Asian Football Confederation (AFC) teams are heading for their first World Cup blank in 24 years, with Japan, South Korea, Australia and Iran all failing to muster a single victory in Brazil so far.
In the latest setback, South Korea went down 4-2 to Algeria in Porto Alegre yesterday after drawing their Group H opener against Russia -- leaving them with slim hopes of making the last 16.
Japan have also disappointed, losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast in their first match in Group C and then failing to find the net against 10-man Greece in a 0-0 stalemate.
Australia lost 3-1 to Costa Rica in their opening game in Group B but can at least take heart from their spirited performance against 2010 finalists the Netherlands in a match they briefly led before losing 3-2.
Iran can hold their heads high after they battled hard against Argentina on Saturday before a stunning injury-time strike from Lionel Messi earned the South Americans a 1-0 win in the Group F fixture.
The results for the teams from the AFC spell bitter disappointment after notable progress at recent World Cups.
In Italy in 1990 neither the United Arab Emirates nor South Korea notched a win.
But at the 1994 World Cup in the United States Saudi Arabia reached the knockout phase and four years later Iran famously beat the United States in France in a group match.
At the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, South Korea stunned the football world by reaching the semi-finals while Japan made the round of 16.
