Soccer is widely beloved and followed throughout Europe, but teams from Asia are not traditionally thought of as World Cup contenders in the same way that teams like Spain, Italy, and England are. The South Korea national football team is one of the most notable exceptions to this rule, a successful soccer team that has made numerous appearances in the FIFA World Cup, and one that even managed to make it to the semifinals in 2002. Given that the 2002 World Cup was held in South Korea (as well as in Japan), it wasn't surprising when the stands filled with fans wearing South Korea football shirts.

With the FIFA World Cup once again on its way for this summer, it's time for South Korea fans to once again stock up on team regalia. With the event to be held in Brazil, South Korea won't have the home field advantage that brought along its best finish in history at the 2002 World Cup. Nevertheless, wearing a South Korea World Cup home jersey 2014 in the stands at the Brazil cup could play a small role in pushing the team back to the semi-finals, and Soccer Box has plenty of those authentic Nike jerseys in stock in addition to numerous other pieces of South Korea gear to help push your team spirit to the next level.

South Korea to Represent Asian Football Confederation in Brazil

When the South Korea national football team takes the field for its games at the forthcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, players and fans wearing South Korea football shirts will be doing so as one of only four teams in the tournament from the ACF (Asian Football Confederation). In addition to South Korea, the ACF will be represented by national soccer teams from Australia, Japan, and Iran.

Of the teams that have qualified from the Asian conference, none are currently considered to be strong contenders for the World Cup title. In FIFA's last ranking of the soccer teams around the world (which was compiled in October 2013, based on season results and standings), South Korea was ranked at 56, leaving it well out of contention for drawing a high seed in the tournament. Similarly, Australia ranks at 57, with Japan and Iran coming in only a bit higher on the standings with ranks of 44 and 49 respectively.

South Korea Will Fight to Transcend Low Seed in World Cup Tournament

These rankings are more or less mimicked in the position South Korea and the rest of the teams from the ACF conference will rank for the FIFA World Cup championship. The top seeds go instead to teams like Spain, Germany, Argentina, and host team Brazil. Still, fans should be proud to don the bright red colors of the South Korea World Cup home jersey 2014, if only because underdogs sometimes surprise people.

While South Korea had numerous advantages in their favor in 2002 in addition to being the home country and playing in their native land, the team didn't have to play any qualifying games to make it into the tournament they still fought hard to score a fourth place finish. In pre-tournament rankings, South Korea was placed all the way back at 40, but that fact didn't stop the team from beating higher-ranked nations such as Spain and Italy in key games. It was a Cinderella story, and even when it came to an end, fans wore their South Korea football shirts with pride.

Now, the South Korea national soccer team will strive to present a repeat performance and to achieve their highest World Cup placement in a decade, if not ever. Undoubtedly, there are several surprises on the way for soccer teams and fans in Brazil this summer, and South Korea is one of those talented wildcard teams that could absolutely be the cause for one of them. So grab your South Korea World Cup home jersey 2014 and cheer for the underdogs: you never know what's going to happen at the World Cup!

If you have faith in South Korea's World Cup chances, head on over to Soccer Box today and check out all of the team gear we have to offer. From South Korea football shirts to team spirit scarfs, you will be able to find all of the gear you need to cheer this ACF team toward victory.