Data Point | Down the World Cup memory lane: When Asian, African and North American nations challenged the giants of football 

Of the 488 countries that entered the group stages, 50% were from Europe, 18% from South America, while only 10% or less were from Africa, Asia and North America each

On November 20, the 22nd edition of the FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar. In the past, the World Cups were predominantly hosted in European countries (11 editions) and South American countries (5 editions). North American nations hosted it thrice. Qatar is only the third Asian country to host the tournament after Japan and South Korea co-hosted it in 2002. In 2010, South Africa hosted the tournament.

European and South American countries have not only been dominant as hosts but have also formed the lion’s share of participants. Of the 488 countries that entered the group stages (round 1) in the 22 editions of the tournament, 249 were from Europe, constituting more than 50%; 18% were from South America; while 10% or less were from Africa, Asia and North America each.

The first African team to enter the tournament was Egypt in 1934. More than 35 years later, in 1970, Morocco became the second African country to do so. From Asia, Turkey and South Korea participated in the first round of the 1954 edition.

But over the years, there has been a steady increase in the number of Asian and African teams which have been entering and registering wins in the group stage of the tournament. While entering the group stages is not a hurdle as each continent has a fixed number of qualification berths, registering wins and moving on to successive stages of the tournament is a different ball game altogether. 

The screenshot shows three news items sourced from The Hindu’s archives. From left to right: North Korea’s win against Italy (published on July 20, 1966); Tunisia’s win against Mexico, which gave it the credit of becoming the first African nation to win a match in the tournament (published on June 4, 1978); Australia’s historic World Cup win against Japan (June 13, 2006)

In 1954, Turkey beat South Korea 7-0 to become the first Asian team to win in the group stage of the World Cup. In 1966, North Korea won against Italy. This was the first defeat of a non-Asian nation at the hands of an Asian team. Tunisia defeated Mexico (3-1) in the 1978 edition to become the first African country to win a match in the group stage. It was in 2006 that a team from Oceania managed to make it to the list when Australia beat Japan (3-1) in the preliminary stage.

In 2022,  five teams from Asia are participating in the World Cup and have recorded three victories and one draw. The five African teams that entered this edition have also managed to win a few matches. The Sunday game in which Morocco defeated Belgium is a case in point.