what was the first asian country to qualify for the world cup
Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup The Indonesian team, prior to independence in 1945. Indonesia was the first Asian team to participate in the FIFA World Cup when the team qualified for the 1938 tournament after its opponent, Japan, withdrew from the qualification heats. The 6â€“0 loss to eventual finalists Hungary in the first round of the tournament in Reims, France, remains the nation's only appearance in the World Cup. The straight knock-out format used at the time made it the only game ever played by the Indonesians. Thus, Indonesia holds the World Cup record as the team with the fewest matches played (1) and one of the teams with the fewest goals scored (0). They were 15th place in the rankings.