Senegal [4] - Nigeria [0]: Africa's scorecard at the last Asia-hosted World Cup

The Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup will match and/or set so many records when the competition kicks off on Sunday, November 20.

One of those records is that it would be only the second time in history that the FIFA World Cup finals is played on Asian soil.

The first time the World Cup was played in Asia was in 2002 when Korea Republic and Japan co-hosted the Korea-Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup.

While the 2002 FIFA World Cup was won by Brazil and headlined by Brazilian striker Ronaldo de Lima, there were interesting performances from the African contingent to Korea-Japan.

African countries at the Korea-Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup: Senegal, Cameroon, Nigeria, Tunisia, and South Africa.

African countries at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup: Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia

We will look at Africa's performance at the last - and only - World Cup to be hosted on Asian soil to see what history they are up against as they take to the pitch again in Asia in a matter of days.

N.B.: It is crucial to point out at this point that all African countries at the 2002 World Cup, except Senegal, crashed out at the group stage.

Tunisia had the worst outing of the African contingent at the 2002 World Cup, exiting at the group stage with only one (1) point. The Carthage Eagles were drawn in Group H with co-hosts Japan, as well as Belgium and Russia.

Tunisia lost their opening game 2-0 to Russia, drew the second game 1-1 with Belgium, and lost their final group game 2-0 to Japan.

The North Africans finished last on the table with one draw, two defeats, one (1) goal scored, five (5) goals conceded, and a -4 goal difference to rank the lowest amongst African countries at the Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria were the whipping boys of Group F at the 2002 World Cup as they were drawn alongside heavyweights Argentina, England, and a respectable Sweden side.

Led by Festus Onigbinde, Nigeria narrowly lost the first game of their campaign by a 1-0 scoreline to Argentina before another 2-1 loss to Sweden on Matchday 2.

Despite a commendable 0-0 draw with England in their last group game, the Super Eagles finished bottom of the group with one (1) point from one draw, two defeats, one (1) goal scored, three (3) goals conceded, and a -2 goal difference.

The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon had a favourable footing at the Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup after they were drawn in Group E with Germany, Republic of Ireland, and Saudi Arabia.

However, in hindsight, Cameroon lost their chance to qualify out of the group from the very first match against Ireland where they drew 1-1.

Had they defeated the Irish, their expected victory over Saudi Arabia and loss to Germany would have still guaranteed their passage to the knockout stages.

However, Ireland got a dramatic 92nd-minute draw against Germany to end up with five (5) points while Cameroon exited the group stage in third position with four (4) points from one win, one draw, and one loss.

South Africa gave a commendable account of themselves at the 2002 World Cup where they were drawn in Group B alongside Spain, Paraguay, and Slovenia.

The Bafana Bafana started their group campaign with a 2-2 draw against Paraguay, signalling their intent to be competitive at the Mundial.

A 1-0 win over Slovenia was recorded by the South Africans on Matchday 2 (a slim win they would have regretted in hindsight) before a tight 3-2 loss to Spain on the final Matchday.

South Africa finished the group campaign with four (4) points from one win, one draw and one defeat with five (5) goals scored and five (5) goals conceded.

But they painfully placed third on the table after the tie-breaker rule was used to place Paraguay second in the group because the South Americans scored more goals (6) even though they also conceded six (6) goals and finished with the same 0 goal difference.

World Cup debutants Senegal were the surprise package of the Korea-Japan 2002 World Cup during which they were drawn in Group A with defending champions France, Uruguay, and Denmark.

The Teranga Lions produced one of the biggest upsets in the history of the World Cup when they grabbed a shock 1-0 victory over defending Champions France in the opening game of the tournament.

Senegal then played two draws - a 1-1 draw with Denmark and a 3-3 draw with Uruguay - in their subsequent matches as they built on their impressive first match.

The results made them progress as second in Group A with five (5) points from one win and two draws as shock favourites France and Uruguay both crashed out from the group stage.

Senegal faced Sweden in their Round of 16 clash during which they came from a goal down to win 2-1 after extra time courtesy of a Henri Camara brace.

Their luck ran out in the quarterfinals where they pushed Turkey to extra time before bowing to an IIhan Mansiz 94th-minute goal as they exited the competition in the last 8.

Senegal's outing at the 2002 World Cup holds the joint record for the furthest an African country has gone at the World Cup with only Cameroon (1990) and Ghana (2010) the only African countries to ever qualify f