Japan lost to Croatia in the PK battle this year and stopped in the round of 16.

(file photo)

The World Cup in Qatar has officially entered the knockout stage. Asian teams have occupied three places in one breath: Australia, Japan and South Korea.

The fierce competition of the top 16 will come to an end. Although the three Asian teams have been eliminated and failed to enter the top eight, they have all written a new chapter for Asia.

Japan was in the same group as Spain, Germany, and Costa Rica in the group stage. They reversed Germany 2:1 when they were not optimistic. After a game of hard work, they reversed Spain 2:1 and successfully advanced to the round of 16 with the first place in the group.

Japan is the big brother in Asia. The last World Cup in Russia also successfully entered the knockout stage. In the top 16, they met the European Red Devils Belgium. They even took a 2-0 lead in the first half. Unfortunately, they lost their strength and were reversed 3-2 in the end. The PK battle was lost.

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South Korea was placed in one of the death groups this year, in the same group as Portugal, Uruguay, and Ghana. They had one draw and one loss in the first two group matches, but defeated Portugal 2:1 at the last minute. Not only did they join hands with Portugal to advance to the top 16, It also made the Asian brother Sun Xingmin (Son Heung-Min) cry again on the court.

After Australia was bloodbathed by the defending team France 4:1 in the first round of the group stage, they defeated Denmark and Tunisia 1:0 in the next two games and successfully advanced to the top 16. Australia participated in the fifth consecutive World Cup after the 2006 World Cup in Germany Except for reaching the top sixteen that year, the others basically packed up and went home in the group stage.

The situation of this World Cup is strange. Compared with other World Cups, in addition to being upset, it is more about the resilience of weak teams. Although Asian teams are still some distance away from the Hercules Cup, especially in recent years, more Many Asian players have performed well in the five major leagues. It is believed that winning the championship is not just a pipe dream.

(Contributing author: Bayes)

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