00:05The first Asian country to participate in the FIFA World Cup was Indonesia.
00:11This was at the 1938 tournament in France during the colonial era,
00:15when they were known as the Dutch East Indies.
00:21They lost their solitary match 6-0,
00:24which is still better than the continent's next representative on the game's biggest stage,
00:29South Korea, when they lost 9-0 and 7-0 on tournament debut in 1954.
00:40It wasn't until the 1966 World Cup that Asian participation became commonplace.
00:47And in England that year, North Korea hinted at what was to come in future decades,
00:52as they stunned Italy in the group stage,
00:55then led Portugal 3-0 in the quarter-finals,
00:59before Eusebio near single-handedly completed a miraculous comeback.
01:08This was the first time that a nation from outside Europe or the Americas
01:13had progressed from the first stage of a World Cup.
01:19Mexico 86 was the first time two Asian nations appeared together at the same tournament.
01:25But it wasn't until Saudi Arabia in 1994 that another team from the continent made the knockout stages.
01:35And it stayed that way until 2002,
01:39a watershed moment in the history of the AFC,
01:42with World Cup hosting rights being shared by Japan and South Korea.
01:48Despite trepidation from outside at the level of interest in the sport in East Asia,
01:53and the quality of the hosts, the tournament proved a roaring success.
02:01Japan reached the round of 16 for the first time,
02:04only to stumble against the competition's surprise packet, Turkey.
02:10Under the guidance of Hus Hiddink, South Korea went as far as the semi-finals,
02:15sending shockwaves through football's established order.
02:20I'm very happy, I'm very satisfied that I could provide my,
02:25hopefully, my knowledge and my experience.
02:28But at the end, they have to do it, they have to do it.
02:31Then I look and I'm happy that a lot of people, a lot of Korean people,
02:36enjoy now, not just yesterday, but also in the past month,
02:41the development of Korean team.
02:43And that makes me, makes me normal, humble and happy for them.
02:48South Korea had never won a match at the World Cup before,
02:51but Hiddink unlocked something magical in the Taeguk Warriors.
02:57A 2-0 win in the first match against Poland had the fans in a frenzy.
03:05Ahn Yonghwan came off the bench to level the second match against the USA.
03:09And when 21-year-old Park Ji-sung announced himself to the world with the only goal against Portugal,
03:16South Korea topped their group.
03:21The nation's president, Kim Dae-jung, led the celebrations.
03:25Very good job.
03:30Very good job.
03:41Coach Hiddink, and players, and all the people who participated in the effort, I really appreciate
03:47your work.
03:50You have made not only 48 million, but also 70 million Koreans cheering now on the peninsula.
03:59In the round of 16, Ahn Yonghwan headed the golden goal that sent Italy to their second
04:04end Korean calamity, the goal that saw him lose his job, with Italian side Perugia in
04:11retaliation.
04:14Two controversial refereeing decisions helped South Korea beat Spain on penalties in the quarter
04:20finals, and although their run came to an end against Germany in the semis, Hiddink had
04:25cemented his reputation as Mr Fix-It on football's greatest stage.
04:33The AFC has had at least four representatives at every World Cup since, and only once has
04:39an Asian nation not reached the knockout phase.
04:44But despite Iran, Australia, South Korea, and Japan all becoming World Cup regulars, consistency
04:53has not converted into further notable peaks.
04:58Japan in particular can feel frustrated at failing to progress beyond the round of 16, despite
05:04long spells ranked inside the top 20 on FIFA's rankings.
05:10But with at least eight sides from the continent appearing at World Cups from 2026, the chances of one
05:17of those pushing new boundaries increases.
05:22Whether that's from one of the traditional powerhouses in the East, or the rising stars of
05:27the West, the AFC is home to an increasingly confident and ambitious array of football nations.
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