Documenting the performance of Asian countries at the FIFA World Cup in 20th Century.

1978 World Cup, Argentina

Juan Perón saluting the crowd, the inspiration of the Argentina 1978 logo

A total of 21 teams were up for the one allocated qualification spot. Iran won the final group and made its first appearance at the FIFA World Cup. They suffered defeats against Netherlands and Peru but managed to surprise Scotland with a 1-1 draw and finished 14 out of 16 teams.

1982 World Cup Spain

China lost to New Zealand in a playoff, leading Kuwait to be the only Asian team in the World Cup. They only got one point but were involved in one of the weirdest occurrences in World Cup history. France scored against them to make it 4-1, but then the Kuwaitis walked off the field because somebody in the crowd blew a whistle and they thought it was the referee. A sheikh protested, and the referees decided the goal didn’t count.

1986 World Cup, Mexico

Asia was awarded two places out of 24 in the final tournament. Lebanon and Oman took their names back before the qualification round began.

Iraq and South Korea won the two available qualification spots for the 1986 World Cup. Iraq lost all three games with defeats coming against Paraguay, Belgium, and Mexico. South Korea was playing in their first World Cup since 1954, but they had a similar fate. Both teams finished last in their group as Asia dismal showing in World Cup continued.

1990 World Cup, Italy

It was the same old story as 1986 World Cup with both South Korea and the United Arab Emirates ended the campaign with zero points. They gave up without a significant fight and Asia's horrible, and pathetic performance at the FIFA World Cup continued.