(World Cup) 2 Asian teams eliminated in group stage, 4 still alive

▲ Sergino Dest of the United States (L) is tackled by Ehsan Hajsafi of Iran during the countries' Group B match at the FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Nov. 29, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Christian Pulisic of the United States (C) scores against Iran during the countries' Group B match at the FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Nov. 29, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Cameron Carter-Vickers of the United States (L) and Sardar Azmoun of Iran battle for the ball during the countries' Group B match at the FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Nov. 29, 2022. (Yonhap)

▲ Mehdi Taremi of Iran (R) reaches for the ball against the United States during the countries' Group B match at the FIFA World Cup at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha on Nov. 29, 2022. (Yonhap)

(World Cup) Asian teams-performance

(World Cup) 2 Asian teams eliminated in group stage, 4 still alive

By Yoo Jee-ho

DOHA, Nov. 30 (Yonhap) -- Two countries from Asia are gone from the FIFA World Cup, as they closed out the group stage with losses Tuesday night.

The host country Qatar had already been eliminated after dropping their first two matches in Group A, and they went out with a whimper by losing 2-0 to the Netherlands on Tuesday.

In Group B, Iran, the highest-ranked Asian team at No. 20, lost to the United States 1-0 when a draw would have been enough for their first trip to the knockout stage.

Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan and South Korea are the four remaining members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) still with a chance to progress to the last 16.

By losing to Ecuador in the tournament opener on Nov. 20, Qatar became the first host country to fail to win their opening match at a World Cup. They are now the first host to lose all three group matches.

The Dutch won the group with seven points and Senegal took the second seed after beating Ecuador 2-1 on Tuesday.

Iran finished their roller coaster of a tournament on a down note. They started out by losing to England 6-2 but bounced back with a 2-0 win over Wales. Iran entered Tuesday's match against the U.S. at Al Thumama Stadium in second place in Group B, but couldn't get over the final hurdle.

The U.S. will be moving on as the second seed, while England, 3-0 winners over Wales on Tuesday, won Group B.

In the round of 16, it will be the Netherlands against the U.S., and England against Senegal.

South Korea are in third place in Group H with one point, heading into their final group match against Portugal on Friday. South Korea must win that game and get help from Uruguay or Ghana when they play each other in the other Group H match the same day. A combination of a South Korean win and a Uruguay victory could send South Korea into the knockouts in a tiebreaking scenario, as could a South Korean victory and a Ghana draw.

Saudi Arabia, who shocked Argentina 2-1 before losing to Poland 2-0, sit in third place in Group C with three points. They will close out the group phase against Mexico on Wednesday.

Australia are in second place in Group D with three points, two ahead of Denmark and Tunisia. Australia's final group match is against Denmark on Wednesday.

In Group E, Japan find themselves in second place with three points, and a date with Spain, who lead the group with four points, is coming up on Thursday.

The AFC has never had more than two countries in the knockout stage at a World Cup. In both 2002 and 2010, South Korea and Japan were the only two AFC teams in the knockouts.

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