Asian Powers Warm Up Before World Cup: Japan Narrowly Wins Against Scotland, Korea and Saudi Suffer 4-Goal Defeats to African Teams

Written by Han Bing During the March international match window, China's national team defeated World Cup participant Curaçao 2-0, drawing attention from AFC and FIFA. Major Asian sports media focused on this morale-boosting upset by China's team. Meanwhile, other top Asian teams also mostly played friendly matches against opponents of considerable strength. Korea and Saudi Arabia, who faced World Cup teams, suffered 4-0 defeats, while only Japan secured a last-minute 1-0 victory away in Glasgow against Scotland.

In Japan's match against Scotland in Glasgow, despite not starting with their full main squad—players like Mitoma, Doan, Ito, and Ueda were on the bench—and coach Moriyasu making 10 substitutions in the second half, Japan still dominated comprehensively. They led in shots (18 vs. 8), shots on target (7 vs. 3), and corners (8 vs. 3), ultimately clinching the win with Ito's goal in the 84th minute. Japan has now won four consecutive friendlies since October last year, against three World Cup-qualified teams: Brazil, Ghana, and Scotland.

Both Japan and Korea played friendlies in the UK in March, but the results were vastly different. World No. 22 Korea suffered a 4-0 defeat to No. 37 African powerhouse Ivory Coast. Korea deployed a 343 formation, with Son Heung-min, Lee Kang-in, Cho Gue-sung, and naturalized midfielder Castro not starting. Kim Min-jae led the defense, while Zhejiang's Park Jin-seop and Kim Jin-gyu anchored the midfield. However, in the first half, Oh Hyeon-gyu and Seol Young-woo both hit the frame, and Ivory Coast scored twice to lead 2-0. Park Jin-sep was substituted early in the second half, and 12 minutes later, the three key players Son, Lee, and Cho entered, but Korea's performance remained poor, with Ivory Coast adding two more goals. Following last October's 5-0 home loss to Brazil, Korea suffered another 4-goal defeat within five months. Before these two matches, Korea's last 4-goal loss dates back to the 2022 World Cup quarter-final 4-1 defeat to Brazil.

Saudi Arabia originally planned friendlies in Qatar against Spain and Egypt, but these were canceled due to the Middle East crisis. They instead hosted Egypt in Jeddah and then traveled to face Serbia. Against Egypt without Salah, Saudi conceded two goals within 16 minutes in the first half, was breached three times by halftime, and just 10 minutes into the second half, Manchester City's Marmoush sealed Egypt's 4-0 victory. Egypt later substituted nine players, and Saudi could not salvage any pride. This is Saudi's biggest defeat in nearly eight years since their 5-0 loss to Russia in the 2018 World Cup opener.

Two other West Asian World Cup participants, Qatar and UAE, also had to cancel their March friendlies due to the Middle East crisis. Iraq, which endured nearly 30 hours of travel to Mexico for the intercontinental playoff, also could not arrange a pre-match friendly to improve their form.

Iran, after nearly 24 hours of travel by bus to Turkey and then flying to Antalya, lost 2-1 to African powerhouse Nigeria amid travel fatigue. Nigeria led 2-0 by the 50th minute, and Iran only managed a consolation goal by Taremi in the 67th minute. Jordan, also warming up in Antalya, led Costa Rica 2-0 but conceded two goals in the final seven minutes to lose the win. Jordan missed injured captain defender Haddad, forwards Naimat and Alwan, weakening their strength.

Australia and Uzbekistan both warmed up through FIFA Series matches. Australia, in the same group as China, narrowly won 1-0 at home in Sydney against Cameroon, who rotated heavily with many key players absent. Uzbekistan, at home in Tashkent, conceded early in the 6th minute but scored three consecutive goals to defeat Gabon 3-1.

Compared to the defeated Korea and Saudi teams, Japan, Australia, and Uzbekistan displayed more stable form. With the World Cup approaching, coaches Hong Myung-bo of Korea and Heinach of Saudi Arabia face immense pressure.