Asia's four representatives at the World Cup are going through transitional phases less than five months before the start of the 2011 Asian Cup, while other teams on the continent appear to have had better preparation.
South Korea and Australia are starting regimes under new coaches, Japan is leaderless and along with North Korea has not played since June.
Rivals China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, have been preparing for the Asian competition ever since failing to make the World Cup in qualifying last year.
The first series of international friendlies since the World Cup had mixed results for Asian Football Confederation members Wednesday, with South Korea beating Nigeria 2-1 and Australia losing 2-0 to Slovenia.
It was an improved result for the South Koreans, following a 2-2 draw with Nigeria at the World Cup which helped them into the second round and consigned the Africans to the bottom of the group.
Much has changed since. South Korea's new coach Cho Kwang-rae opted for a 3-4-3 formation and handed debuts to four young players. Yoon Bitgaram, 20, grabbed a stylish opener early in the match and the impressive Choi Hyo-jin scored the winning goal just before the break.
''We have been trying hard to adapt to the coach's style of football,'' said captain Park Ji-sung, who plays for Manchester United. ''We tried to play at a high tempo and move the ball around quickly. We need more time but it was a good start.''
South Korea's Asian Cup group opponents Australia conceded two late goals at Ljubljana from Zlatko Dedic and Zlatan Ljubijankic, giving the Europeans a deserved win.
The game was overshadowed, however, by the appointment of Holger Osieck as Socceroos coach several hours before kickoff. Osieck was assistant coach of the German team which won the 1990 World Cup and has had stints in charge of Canada and took Japanese team Urawa Reds to the 2007 Asian Champions League title.
Osieck watched from the sidelines whil caretaker coach Han Berger led the Socceroos, without stars such as Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell.
''It was a difficult game for us and we were not able to create too many chances,'' Berger told Australian television. ''Our main problem was that we turned the ball over too much, too early, too quickly and too often and then you're under pressure and in certain moments you pay for that.''
Japan and North Korea won't be in action until September, leaving rival teams to get a headstart for the Asian Cup in January in Doha.
Bahrain is also grouped with Australia and South Korea in Qatar and was impressive in a 1-1 draw with China in Nanning. China has been in good form, defeating France in June, but it was the tiny West Asian nation that had the better of the 90 minutes.
Iran won the last of its three Asian titles back in 1976 and has been preparing for the 2011 version for 12 months. Those preparations continued with a 3-1 win over Armenia with two goals from Mohammad Nosrati.
''We want to win the title in the Asian Cup,'' Iran coach Afshin Ghotbi said. ''This is our first priority and the number of Iranian fans will also increase if we win the crown.''
Three-time Asian champion and 2007 finalist Saudi Arabia defeated Togo 1-0.
''Saudi Arabia cannot enter any competition in Asia without the aim of winning,'' the team's Portuguese coach Jose Peseiro said earlier this week. ''The Asian Cup is the most important tournament for us. Our goal is to win.''
Asian Cup host Qatar managed a 1-1 draw with Bosnia-Herzegovina in Sarajevo to increase hopes of reaching the latter stages in January.
