Football World Cup 2002

The 2002 Football World Cup (Official name:2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan?) was held in South Korea and Japan from May 31 to June 30. It was the 17th edition of the tournament. For the first time in history it was organised by two countries, which also meant that for the first time three teams received automatic berths in the tournament. It was also the first time it was not held in Europe or the Americas. The tournament was won by Brazil for a record fifth time.

Related Topics:
2002 - Football World Cup - South Korea - Japan - May 31 - June 30 - Europe - The Americas - Brazil

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The format of the competiton stayed the same as in 1998: 32 teams were split into eight groups of four. 16 teams: eight group winners and eight second place finishers would qualify for the knockout competition.

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The tournament featured the unexpected early elimination of many of the highly regarded teams, with France, Portugal and Argentina not surviving the first round and Italy and Spain defeated by the Republic of Korea, the last two were highly upset by the notorius referee failures that favored the korean team, that controversy made popular the supposition of the cup's set up to favor the bussines on Korea, making a big impact on the tournament credibility. Furthermore, eventual finalists Germany had suffered one of their worst defeats ever during the qualifying matches, losing 5-1 to England in September 2001.

Related Topics:
France - Portugal - Argentina - Italy - Spain - Republic of Korea - Korea - Germany - England

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Three teams reached the quarterfinals for the first time: Turkey, Senegal, and Korea, with Turkey and Korea reaching the semifinals. This World Cup tournament was Senegal's first, along with China, Ecuador, and Slovenia.

Related Topics:
Turkey - Senegal - China - Ecuador - Slovenia

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In the end, though, the finals saw the all-time World Cup winning country, Brazil, defeat the team with the second-best World Cup record, Germany, 2-0 for their record fifth title. The 2002 final was the first time Brazil and Germany had ever faced one another at a World Cup. Ronaldo won the Golden Boot by scoring eight goals.

Related Topics:
Germany - Ronaldo - Golden Boot

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For full details of the competition, see the Football World Cup 2002 (match reports) article.

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