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Published : 16 Jun 2026, 11:38 PM
Asia has made a stunning start to the expanded 48-team World Cup, remaining unbeaten after six teams have already taken the field, while South America has endured a rare and worrying winless opening.
In the first five days of the tournament in North America, several so-called smaller sides have defied expectations, taking points off established powers.
Most strikingly, none of the Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) teams have lost so far, while all four South American sides in action are still without a victory.
Nine Asian teams are competing at the World Cup. Six have already played, with Australia and South Korea registering wins.
Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Iran have all drawn their opening matches. Iraq, along with debutants Jordan and Uzbekistan, are still to play.
South Korea secured a 2–1 win over Czechia, while Australia beat Turkey 2–0. Qatar came from behind to hold Switzerland 1–1, marking their first point after trailing until late in the match.
Japan delivered one of the standout performances, twice coming from behind to draw 2–2 against three-time finalists the Netherlands.
Saudi Arabia also held firm to draw 1–1 with two-time champions Uruguay, while Iran fought back twice to secure a 2–2 draw against New Zealand.
In contrast, South American teams have struggled for momentum.
Of the six CONMEBOL sides, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil and Ecuador have all failed to win their opening matches.
Paraguay were thrashed 4–1 by hosts United States, Brazil were held 1–1 after falling behind against Morocco, and Ecuador suffered a 1–0 defeat to Ivory Coast.
The winless start is only the second such occurrence in the 96-year history of the World Cup, the previous instance coming at the 1974 edition in West Germany, when South American teams also failed to win any of their opening four matches.
That tournament saw Brazil draw 0–0 with Yugoslavia, Argentina lose 3–2 to Poland, Uruguay fall 2–0 to the Netherlands and Chile beaten 1–0 by West Germany.
This time, defending champions Argentina are set to begin their campaign first among CONMEBOL sides, facing Algeria in Kansas City at 7am Bangladesh time on Wednesday.
Led by Lionel Messi and Rodrigo De Paul, Argentina will carry the burden of breaking South America’s early winless streak.
Whether the world champions can restore balance remains the central question as pressure mounts across the continent.
Colombia will be the final South American side to begin their campaign, facing Uzbekistan at 8am on Thursday Bangladesh time.
