Five Asian countries will be participating in the Qatar World Cup, but if the latest Fifa rankings are taken as only criteria to qualify, none from the continent would make it to the second round.
However, it does not take away shine from the fact that a record five teams from Asia will be partaking in the upcoming greatest show on earth, including top-ranked Iran (20th) and the hosts Qatar, who are debutants in the competition.
The number is one more if the list adds Australia, who compete in Fifa's Asian Football Confederation region.
On pen and paper, none of these sides are expected to reach the last 16, and stats say there were only six occasions in 92-year World Cup history that they qualified for the knockout stages.
The opening two editions saw no Asian representatives, before Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies, made debut in France in 1938, which is their only appearance till date.
In 1938, Indonesia (known as Dutch East Indies then) became the first Asian nation to make an appearance at the World Cup
North Korea stunned Italy 1-0 in 1966 to become the first country from Asia to progress to the knockout stages.
First time two Asian countries took part in the World Cup was in 1986, after the number of participants increased from 16 to 24, but South Korea and Iraq couldn't win any.
The drought continued in the next edition before Saeed Al-Owairan's Saudi Arabia beat Belgium and Morocco to reach the top 16 for the first time in 1994.
Saudi Arabia football team during the 1994 World CupAlso Read: All eyes zero in on Qatar
The increase of teams to 32 from 1998 saw at least four countries from Asia involved in each tournament until now.
South Korea, who made highest 11 appearances from Asia, earned the continent its best ever achievement by reaching the semi-finals of 2002 when the country hosted the mega event along with Japan.
They defeated teams like Italy, Spain and Portugal during the fairytale run.
South Korea players celebrate en route to their fairytale run in 2002 at homeSouth Korea are the first country outside Europe and South America to reach 10 consecutive World Cup finals.
In fact, there are only four other countries who have qualified for the past 10 tournaments and they are Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Spain.
Japan debuted in 1998 but showed more consistency than the other Asian counterparts in the last two decades, as they made the second round three times, including the previous Russia World Cup, outracing Senegal and Poland in the group stages.
Things would be more difficult for Japan to repeat the same feat in Qatar as they have opponents like former champions Germany and Spain in Group E, alongside Costa Rica.
South Korea too have formidable Group H opponents in Portugal, Uruguay and Ghana, and they have the talismanic captain Son Heung-min, who is one of the top stars to watch out for in the World Cup.
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Son shared the English Premier League golden boot with Mohamed Salah last season.
The Taeguk Warriors' best hope in Qatar, Son Heung-min Qatar are reigning Asian Cup champions, but they are new to World Cup.
Considering home advantage and all the squad members being home-based, they will be more determined to surprise Ecuador, Senegal and the Netherlands in Group A.
As the tournament is taking place in the Middle East for the first time, Iran and Saudi Arabia will also be striving to make a mark.
Iran got interesting opponents in Group B – England, USA and Wales - while the Saudis have Argentina, Mexico and Poland in Group C.
“They (Asian country) may cause one or two upsets, but not more than that,” former footballer and coach Ghulam Sarwar Tipu told Dhaka Tribune.
He added, “They will not get any advantage except the weather.
“They are behind the European and South American in terms of athleticism and skills. No matter how much they, like Qatar, are inspired, they have little option to do well against better teams.
“If there is any team from Asia who could make it to the next round, it is South Korea. Others don't have a chance because the difference is huge.”
Asian countries at World Cup
Total number of participating teams: 12
Debut: Indonesia (1938)
Most appearances: South Korea (11)
Best result: Semi-finals by South Korea (2002)
Most second round outings: Japan (3)
Most wins: South Korea (6)
Biggest defeat: South Korea 0-9 Hungary (1954)
Biggest win: South Korea 2-0 Germany (2018)