MUST BE FROM ASIA MINOR

Say this much for the Asian teams competing in this World Cup:

Two of them will co-host the next one in 2002.

And that’s about the best thing that can be said about the four-team Asian contingent in France so far. Combined, Japan, South Korea, Iran and Saudi Arabia are 0-7-0 and have been outscored, 16-1.

Things are so bad that Saudi Arabia fired its coach, Carlos Alberto Parreira, with one game left on its World Cup schedule, and South Korea on Saturday absorbed the most lopsided defeat of the tournament to date--a 5-0 drubbing by the Netherlands.

On the bright side, Japan and South Korea can get a head start on 2002 preparations, beginning this Friday.