FIFA World Cup 2026: AFC closing gap with rest of world, says Masefield after Asia’s strong start

A week after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Asian teams have made an impressive start to the tournament.

Qatar earned its first World Cup point against Switzerland, Japan twice came from behind to hold the Netherlands to a 2-2 draw, Australia recorded a surprising 2-0 win against Turkiye and Saudi Arabia fought to a draw against Uruguay.

Until Iraq’s defeat to Norway, the AFC qualifiers were undefeated through their first six matches at the tournament.

According to Paul Masefield, senior commentator and member of this year’s expert panel in India, these results are an indication that Asian parties want to close the gap with the rest of the world.

«What you see in every walk of life is that when things start out there can be big differences. But what happens over time is that, with an evolution of understanding of the game, of coaching, of ethos, the gap becomes smaller and smaller,» Masefield said. Sports stars. “And that is exactly what has happened here: Asia has managed to overtake Europe, Africa and North and South America to some extent.”

«Asia is here to stay. The country is putting its flag on the map and going out to ensure it can compete,» he added.

Masefield was particularly impressed with Japan, who twice fought back against the Netherlands to earn a draw, backing the country to go furthest among the Asian teams.

«It’s just a well-oiled unit. And what it is about Japan is that it’s a team. If you forget your individuals, it’s a team, that’s how they play. They play together, the community is there, the bonding is there,» he said.

«You look at the way they leave the dressing room. You look at the way the fans leave a stadium. The mentality and the mentality is just completely focused on one thing, and that is to represent the country. Now the skills that they have of going abroad and then coming back and taking that experience with them is starting to rub off on the rest of the players,» Masefield said.

He also emphasized the development paths that Japan has put in place.

«The development process in Japan is absolutely second to none. It’s one of the best in the world, the facilities they have, the development they have,» he said.

«And there are a lot of countries in Asia, Europe and Africa that are adopting the ethos that the Japanese are using. They’re getting it right on the field and off the field, and if that happens, especially off the field, you’re going to be successful on the field.»

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Masefield also praised Australia, who produced a disciplined defensive performance to beat Turkiye despite injury concerns.

«Playing like this for 90 minutes is mentally exhausting because you know if you make one mistake you’re conceding a goal. I thought the discipline they showed was absolutely fantastic,» he said.

Masefield also expressed his support for the expanded 48-team format used in 2026, saying it would have made the tournament more inclusive and given more teams the opportunity to qualify.

“I think it’s great because it means it can be more inclusive and give more teams the opportunity to qualify. And hopefully Asia will get more spots and more berths in the future,” he said.

«That’s why we also get players like Curaçao, Haiti and Cape Verde in the competition. Okay, Curaçao didn’t meet expectations, but Cape Verde didn’t do that bad in its game, did it?»

He also noted that the expanded format offered teams that have generally not participated in the World Cup, including India, greater hope of qualifying for the tournament in the future.

«I think it gives more countries greater opportunities to qualify in the future because a lot of China is at home, we should be there. Indonesia, with the population it has, almost 300 million people going, we should be there,» Masefield said.

“So everyone is now going to compete to make the next cycle one of those 48.”

The interaction was organized by Zee5, the official broadcaster of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in India.

Published on June 17, 2026