Though the FIFA World Cup is the premier celebration of footballing talent from around the globe, only two continents have dominated the quadrennial competition. Among the eight nations to win the World Cup, five have come from Europe and three from South America.

However, the competition’s expansion has provided more opportunities for teams outside of the two traditional powerhouse continents to make deep runs. Relative to 2022, this summer’s tournament will see three more European teams, two more North American teams, two more South American teams, one more Oceanian team, three more Asian teams, and five more African teams. No team from outside Europe or South America has ever even made the final, but if there’s ever a year for it, this is it.

In this five-part series, I’ve already predicted the best-performing nation from Europe and South America, but today I’ll focus on Asia, the continent with the third-most participants and the only one with two debutants.

First, I’ll break down which Asian countries are participating in this summer’s World Cup, sorted by their odds of lifting the trophy on July 19 at DraftKings Sportsbook.

List of Asian countries in the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Japan (+5000)
South Korea (+45000)
Australia (+50000)
Iran (+50000)
Uzbekistan (+100000)
Saudi Arabia (+100000)
Qatar (+10000)
Iraq (+100000)
Jordan (+200000)

Which Asian country will advance the farthest? Pick, best bet

Japan is the only Asian country for whom victory is a realistic dream. The Samurai Blue are currently the highest-ranked team on the continent at No. 19 in the FIFA World Rankings, and they’ve had some very impressive friendly results as of late, beating both England and Brazil within the last year. It’s impossible to glean too much from friendlies, as neither team played every member of its regular starting XI’s, but the level of dominance that Japan has displayed over the last year is hard to ignore. It was unstoppable in Asian qualifications, scoring 54 goals and giving up just three in 16 matches, and its roster is star-studded, with 13 players in one of Europe’s top five leagues. Ayase Ueda leads the Eredivisie in goals.

The Samurai Blue also have a doable group, which features the Netherlands, Sweden, and Tunisia. Though the Orange, ranked seventh in the latest rankings, is the most difficult team on paper, they didn’t necessarily have the strongest qualification campaign, drawing twice with World No. 35 Poland, and they just drew with Ecuador in their most recent friendly. Plus, the Netherlands’ most talented youngster, Xavi Simons, is set to miss the World Cup after tearing his ACL on club duty with Tottenham Hotspur, and the leaders of the team (striker Memphis and defender Virgil van Dijk) are both on the wrong side of 30. Sweden had an awful World Cup qualifying campaign, failing to win a single game and advancing to the European playoffs only by virtue of its Nations League win, and despite a dominant African qualifying campaign (22 goals for, zero goals conceded), Tunisia barely beat lowly Haiti and drew with Canada in its friendlies, and it lost in the Round of 16 in last winter’s Africa Cup of Nations.

If Japan tops its group — it has +250 odds to do so — it would then be in line to play the runner-up in Group C, which features Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, and Scotland. On paper, that could be an extremely difficult task, given that both Brazil and Morocco are ranked within the world’s top 10, but the Samurai Blue have beaten the Seleçao recently and have the attacking talent to break the Atlas Lions’ strong back line. If Japan manages to win its Round of 32 matchup, it’s a good bet to make it to the quarterfinals, since it’ll face the runner-up in either Group A or Group B, and the highest-ranked nation in either of those groups is No. 15 Mexico. If the Samurai Blue finish second in Group F, they’ll still face either Brazil or Morocco in the Round of 32 before a Round of 16 date against either the Group E or I runner-up, which is likely to be either Ecuador or Senegal.

A few other Asian teams are worth considering. South Korea could represent good value, given that it has a wide-open Group A against Mexico, South Africa, and Czech Republic, but the Taegeuk Warriors have had a few disappointing friendlies, including a 4-0 defeat to the Ivory Coast, and it’ll likely face England in the Round of 16 if it wins its group and advances one knockout stage. Similarly, Australia is in a wide-open group with the United States, Türkiye, and Paraguay, but the Socceroos lost three friendlies in a row — including one to the Stars and Stripes — last fall. The other national teams have too many questions: Iran is in the middle of a war, and Uzbekistan’s, Saudi Arabia’s, and Iraq’s groups are simply too tough.

Best Bet: Japan to Reach Quarter-Final (+400)