Abram Jones
New Member
AFC has 4.5 spots for the 2018 World Cup. Here are the major Asian countries with their economic determinant (a number that estimates countries potential based on gdp per capita and population amount). See this video for more commentary:
China: 60 million
Japan: 54.7 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
India: 16.7 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Australia: 11.4 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
South Korea: 10.9 million
Indonesia: 7.5 million
Taiwan: 7.4 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Saudi Arabia: 5.1 million
Iran: 4.7 million
Thailand: 3.4 million
United Arab Emirates: 2.9 million
Malaysia: 2.6 million
Singapore: 2.4 million
Hong Kong: 2.3 million
Philippines: 2 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Pakistan: 1.8 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Iraq: 1.4 million
Qatar: 1.2 million
Bangladesh: 1.1 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Kuwait: 1.1 million
Myanmar: 623,000
Sri Lanka: 582,000 (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Oman: 558,000
Syria: 445,000
North Korea: 441,000
Uzbekistan: 393,000
Lebanon: 380,000
Yemen: 298,000
Macau: 281,000
Bahrain: 255,000
Jordan: 245,000
Turkmenistan: 226,000
Afghanistan: 162,000
Nepal: 160,000 (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Brunei: 126,000
Cambodia: 112,000
Conclusion: China, Japan, and South Korea are almost guaranteed World Cup spots unless they ridiculously underachieve (which China is doing). Qualification for Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran is made easy because of under achievement by India and Indonesia. Qualification for any other Asian country is extremely difficult (more difficult than it is for North American countries of their relative size). North Korea has greatly overachieved in this regard.
China: 60 million
Japan: 54.7 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
India: 16.7 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Australia: 11.4 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
South Korea: 10.9 million
Indonesia: 7.5 million
Taiwan: 7.4 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Saudi Arabia: 5.1 million
Iran: 4.7 million
Thailand: 3.4 million
United Arab Emirates: 2.9 million
Malaysia: 2.6 million
Singapore: 2.4 million
Hong Kong: 2.3 million
Philippines: 2 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Pakistan: 1.8 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Iraq: 1.4 million
Qatar: 1.2 million
Bangladesh: 1.1 million (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Kuwait: 1.1 million
Myanmar: 623,000
Sri Lanka: 582,000 (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Oman: 558,000
Syria: 445,000
North Korea: 441,000
Uzbekistan: 393,000
Lebanon: 380,000
Yemen: 298,000
Macau: 281,000
Bahrain: 255,000
Jordan: 245,000
Turkmenistan: 226,000
Afghanistan: 162,000
Nepal: 160,000 (football not the number 1 sport in country, number should be greatly reduced)
Brunei: 126,000
Cambodia: 112,000
Conclusion: China, Japan, and South Korea are almost guaranteed World Cup spots unless they ridiculously underachieve (which China is doing). Qualification for Australia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran is made easy because of under achievement by India and Indonesia. Qualification for any other Asian country is extremely difficult (more difficult than it is for North American countries of their relative size). North Korea has greatly overachieved in this regard.
