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South Korea has qualified for nine in a row. Since the AFC went from two to four qualifying spots in 1998, only South Korea and Japan have qualified for every tournament. Iran, Saudi Arabia, China, and Australia have also qualified in that time. In 2002, South Korea finished fourth, the best- ever result for an AFC team.

Japanese star Shinji Okazaki (L) has enjoyed a successful club career in Europe

The AFC is not traditionally a confederation that churns out stars of the sport, but it produces some very good players. Omar Abdulrahman of

the United Arab Emirates was named Asian Footballer of the Year for 2016. He plays in the UAE’s top league. Other players have branched out to play in the world’s best leagues. Shinji Okazaki of Japan has been a striker in Europe’s top leagues since 2011. After five seasons in the German Bundesliga with Stuttgart and Mainz, Okazaki moved to Leicester City in England’s Premier League. For his country, Okazaki has scored more than 50 goals, including two in the World Cup. South Korea’s Son Heung-min is a midfielder for his country’s team who followed a similar path to that of Okazaki. Son started at Hamburg in the Bundesliga at age 18, then played with Bayer Leverkusen before moving to Tottenham in the Premier League.

South Korea’s Son Heung-min has played in both the Bundesliga and the Premier League

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