FIFA World Cup 2002

FIFA World Cup 2002 Japan Korea

The first round of the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in Korea and Japan reflected a changing football world as upsets and surprises thrilled right from the start. In the end however, it was two familiar faces, Germany and Brazil, who played for the world championship, and it was the South Americans who won their unprecedented fifth FIFA World Cup.

Ronaldo, who suffered a famously poor final four years earlier, was the hero for the Seleção, scoring both in the 2-0 victory. Ronaldo ended up with eight goals in the tournament – the most in a FIFA World Cup since Gerd Müller scored ten times at Mexico 1970.

World Cup Opening Shocks

The tone of the group stage was set in the opening match as African debutantes Senegal shocked the holders France with an impressive 1-0 victory. Les Bleus never really recovered from the loss, failing to escape Group A without even mustering a goal. Though the disappointment was extreme for the French, it was a wonderful match and tournament for the Senegalese. The Lions of Teranga made it to the second round, beating Sweden on a golden goal, and then only fell to a Turkish golden goal in the quarter-finals.

Europe got its revenge in what was termed “The Group of Death,” where England and Sweden went through at the expense of powerful Argentina and always dangerous Nigeria. The most hotly anticipated match of the entire opening stage was perhaps the Argentina v. England rematch in Sapporo, Japan. England captain David Beckham, who was sent off in the corresponding contest at France ’98, successfully put his ghosts to rest as his penalty kick was the only goal in the always fascinating confrontation between the teams. Argentina, a pre-tournament favorite for many, could only manage a draw in their last match against the Swedes, and they joined the ranks of big-names on their way home earlier than expected. Fantastic finals for first co-hosts While the knockout rounds followed a more predictable pattern than the startling group stage, co-hosts Korea Republic did their best to keep the dream alive. In the Round of 16, they faced illustrious Italy and claimed an electrifying 2-1 victory from Ahn Jung Hwan’s golden goal. Even more unlikely was what followed next -- a penalty shootout win in the quarter-final over hardened and excellent European side, Spain.

A 1-0 loss in the semi-final to Germany could not dampen the incredible enthusiasm of the Korean people, who flooded the streets like a sea of red during and after every match. The first FIFA World Cup hosted in Asia, fellow co-hosts, Japan were busy having a party of their own. The frenzied blue hoard no doubt helped the Japanese on the way to a first-ever victory at the finals. That the three points came against a mature and expert Russian team is testament to the growth of football in the Far East. Impressive Turkey knocked out the Japanese in the second round on their way to the semi-finals.

Germans work their way to the Final

Traditional powers Germany were actually not on the tongues of most as favorites before the tournament. But in typical Germanic fashion, they recorded three consecutive 1-0 victories over their rivals in the knockout rounds to book a spot in their seventh final.

After a full month of passion, constantly filled with upsets, unforeseen heroes and even more unexpected victims, the finals ended with its most familiar conclusion – the yellow-clad South Americans holding aloft the FIFA World Cup trophy. By claiming their fifth world championship at Asia’s first finals, Brazil kept alive their extraordinary record of having won the FIFA World Cup on every continent that has hosted the event

Qualification Process

A total of 199 teams compete for 32 spots in the tournament. The hosts and the defending champions automatically qualify. Teams from each conference of FIFA are given a certain amount of entries into the tournament.

Qualification Requirements

Competition Format

After about two years of World Cup qualifying in each of the Confederati0ns, the World Cup draw takes place to determine the groups in teh first stage. There are fives stages to the World Cup competition: first round of the Group of 32, second round Group of 16, then immediate elimination rounds of the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. After each round the looser goes home and winner advances in to the next stage of the tournament.

Locations and Venues

The 2002 World Cup was held in stadiums across Korea and Japan. Teams played the group stages in one country, and then moved toward Japan for the finals.

• Groups A, B, C, D competed in South Korea.
• Groups E, F, G, H competed in Japan.
• The finals were held at international stadium in Yokohama, Japan.

Korean Venues

Japanese Venues

World Cup 2002 Winners

World Cup Match Fixtures and Results

Final

3rd Place Play-Off

Semi-Finals

Quarter-Finals

Round 2 (Group of 16)

Group A Match Results

Group B Match Results

Group C Match Results

Group D Match Results

Group E Match Results

Group F Match Results

Group G Match Results

Group H Match Results

Group Standings

Group A Standings

Group B Standings

Group C Standings

Group D Standings

Group E Standings

Group F Standings

Group G Standings

Group H Standings

Top Goal Scorers

Important Links

• FIFA

References

• World Cup Japan Korea