FIFA World Cup 2002 was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men’s national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from May 31 to June 30 at various locations in South Korea and Japan, with the final match taking place at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan. During the opening ceremony, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung officially declared the championship open.
Champions | Runners- Up | Third Place | Fourth Place |
Brazil (5th title) | Germany | Turkey | South Korea |
Golden Ball Winner | Golden Boot Winner | FIFA Fair Play Trophy |
Oliver Kahn | Ronaldo | Belgium |
Best young player: Landon Donovan
Yashin Award (Best goalkeeper): Oliver Kahn
Most Entertaining Team: South Korea
FIFA World Cup 2002 Group stage
Group A
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | Denmark | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | |
2. Qualified | Senegal | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 5 | |
3 | Uruguay | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 2 | |
4 | France | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | −3 | 1 | |
Group B
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | |
2. Qualified | Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 | |
3 | South Africa | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
4 | Slovenia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 0 | |
Group C
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | Brazil | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 9 | |
2. Qualified | Turkey | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 4 | |
3 | Costa Rica | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
4 | China | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 | −9 | 0 | |
Group D
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | South Korea (Host) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | |
2. Qualified | United States | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 | |
3 | Portugal | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 3 | |
4 | Poland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 | 3 | |
Group E
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | Germany | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | +10 | 7 | |
2. Qualified | Republic of Ireland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | |
3 | Cameroon | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 4 | |
4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | −12 | 0 | |
Group F
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | Sweden | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 5 | |
2. Qualified | England | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
3 | Argentina | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | |
4 | Nigeria | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 1 | |
Group G
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 7 | |
2. Qualified | Italy | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
3 | Croatia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |
4 | Ecuador | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
Group H
Position | Team | Played | Win | Draw | Loss | GF | GA | GD | Points | |
1. Qualified | Japan (Host) | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | |
2. Qualified | Belgium | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 5 | |
3 | Russia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | |
4 | Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | −4 | 1 | |
FIFA World Cup 2002 Round of 16
Date | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 |
15 June 2002 | Germany | 1–0 | Paraguay |
15 June 2002 | Denmark | 0–3 | England |
16 June 2002 | Sweden | 1–2 (a.e.t) | Senegal |
16 June 2002 | Spain | 1–1 (a.e.t.)
3–2 (Penalties) | Republic of Ireland |
17 June 2002 | Mexico | 0–2 | United States |
17 June 2002 | Brazil | 2–0 | Belgium |
18 June 2002 | Japan | 0–1 | Turkey |
18 June 2002 | South Korea | 2–1 (a.e.t) | Italy |
FIFA World Cup 2002 Quarter finals
Date | Team 1 | Result | Team 2 |
21 June 2002 | England | 1–2 | Brazil |
21 June 2002 | Germany | 1–0 | United States |
22 June 2002 | Spain | 0–0 (a.e.t.)
3–5 (penalties) | South Korea |
22 June 2002 | Senegal | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Turkey |
Semi finals
25 June 2002 20:30, Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul
Germany |
1 – 0 |
South Korea |
Michael Ballack 75′ |
|
|
26 June 2002 20:30, Saitama Stadium, Saitama
Brazil |
1 – 0 |
Turkey |
Ronaldo 49′ |
|
|
Third place play-off
29 June 2002 20:00, Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu
South Korea |
2 – 3 |
Turkey |
Lee Eul-yong 9′
Song Chong-gug 90+3′ |
|
Şükür 1′
İlhan 13′, 32′ |
FIFA World Cup 2002 final match
30 June 2002 20:00, International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Germany |
0 – 2 |
Brazil |
|
|
Ronaldo 67′, 79′ |
Top goal scorers
Rank | Player Name | Country | Goals |
1 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 8 |
2 | Rivaldo | Brazil | 5 |
3 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
4 | Jon Dahl Tomasson | Denmark | 4 |
5 | Christian Vieri | Italy | 4 |
6 | Marc Wilmots | Belgium | 3 |
7 | Michael Ballack | Germany | 3 |
8 | Robbie Keane | Republic of Ireland | 3 |
9 | Pauleta | Portugal | 3 |
10 | Fernando Morientes | Spain | 3 |
11 | Raúl | Spain | 3 |
12 | Papa Bouba Diop | Senegal | 3 |
13 | Henrik Larsson | Sweden | 3 |
14 | İlhan Mansız | Turkey | 3 |
Most assist provider list
Rank | Player Name | Country | Assist |
1 | Michael Ballack | Germany | 4 |
2 | Ronaldinho | Brazil | 3 |
3 | David Beckham | England | 3 |
4 | Bernd Schneider | Germany | 3 |
5 | Christian Ziege | Germany | 3 |
6 | Francisco De Pedro | Spain | 3 |
7 | Hasan Sas | Turkey | 3 |
Note: Oliver Kahn is the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Ball in FIFA World Cup history.
FIFA World Cup 2002 all star team
Goalkeeper | Defender | Midfielder | Forward |
Oliver Kahn | Sol Campbell | Michael Ballack | El Hadji Diouf |
Rüştü Reçber | Fernando Hierro | Claudio Reyna | Miroslav Klose |
| Hong Myung-bo | Rivaldo | Ronaldo |
| Alpay Özalan | Ronaldinho | Hasan Şaş |
| Roberto Carlos | Yoo Sang-chul | |
FIFA World Cup 2002 Summary
A field of 32 teams qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, marking the first time the tournament was held in Asia, the first outside of the Americas or Europe, and the first to be jointly hosted by two nations. China, Ecuador, Senegal, and Slovenia made their World Cup debuts, with Senegal advancing to the quarterfinals as the only debutant to make it past the group stage.
The tournament featured several surprising outcomes, including defending champions France being eliminated in the group stage without scoring a goal and earning only one point, and second favorites Argentina also exiting in the group stage. South Korea achieved an impressive run to the semi-finals, defeating Poland, Portugal, Italy, and Spain along the way. They became the first team from outside UEFA, CONMEBOL, and CONCACAF regions, and one of the first Asian teams (along with Turkey in this World Cup), to reach the semi-finals.
Brazil emerged victorious, winning the final against Germany 2–0, securing their fifth World Cup title, a record. This victory qualified Brazil for the 2003 and 2005 FIFA Confederations Cups. Turkey claimed third place by defeating South Korea 3–2 in the third-place play-off, and they also scored the fastest goal in World Cup history, just 10.8 seconds after kick-off.
The 2002 World Cup was the last to feature the golden goal rule and the last to use the same ball for all matches. Since 2006, a ball with the same technical specifications but different colors has been used in the final.
FIFA World Cup 2002 Venues
South Korea and Japan each provided 10 venues, the vast majority of them newly built for the tournament.
Stadium | Capacity | City (South Korea) |
Daegu World Cup Stadium | 68,014 | Daegu |
Seoul World Cup Stadium | 63,961 | Seoul |
Busan Asiad Stadium | 55,982 | Busan |
Incheon World Cup Stadium | 52,179 | Incheon |
Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium | 43,550 | Ulsan |
Suwon World Cup Stadium | 43,188 | Suwon |
Gwangju World Cup Stadium | 42,880 | Gwangju |
Jeonju World Cup Stadium | 42,391 | Jeonju |
Jeju World Cup Stadium | 42,256 | Seogwipo |
Daejeon World Cup Stadium | 40,407 | Daejeon |
Stadium | Capacity | City (Japan) |
International Stadium Yokohama | 72,327 | Yokohama |
Saitama Stadium | 63,000 | Saitama |
Shizuoka Stadium ECOPA | 50,600 | Shizuoka |
Nagai Stadium | 50,000 | Osaka |
Miyagi Stadium | 49,000 | Miyagi |
Ōita Stadium | 43,000 | Ōita |
Niigata Stadium | 42,300 | Niigata |
Kashima Stadium | 42,000 | Kashima |
Kobe Wing Stadium | 42,000 | Kobe |
Sapporo Dome | 42,000 | Sapporo |
Qualification
A total of 199 teams attempted to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, with the qualification process starting with a preliminary draw in Tokyo on December 7, 1999. Defending champions France, along with co-hosts South Korea and Japan, qualified automatically without participating in the qualification matches. This tournament was the last in which the defending champions received automatic qualification.
The allocation of places was as follows: 14 spots for UEFA (Europe), five for CAF (Africa), four for CONMEBOL (South America), four for AFC (Asia), and three for CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean). The remaining two spots were determined by playoffs between AFC and UEFA, and between CONMEBOL and OFC (Oceania). Four nations made their World Cup debuts: China, Ecuador, Senegal, and Slovenia. As of 2022, this remains the last time the Republic of Ireland and Turkey have qualified for the World Cup, and the only time for China. It was also the last time Australia and Switzerland failed to qualify.
Turkey qualified for the first time since 1954, Poland and Portugal for the first time since 1986, and Costa Rica and Uruguay for the first time since 1990. Sweden, Russia, and the Republic of Ireland returned after missing the 1998 World Cup. Notable absences included the Netherlands, Romania, Colombia, Bulgaria, Morocco, Norway, Austria, Chile, Iran, Jamaica, Scotland, and Yugoslavia. South Korea set a record by qualifying for a fifth consecutive finals tournament, becoming the first nation from outside Europe or the Americas to achieve this.
All seven previous World Cup-winning nations (Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Uruguay) qualified, setting a record for the most previous champions at a tournament, which was broken again in 2014. The highest-ranked team that did not qualify was Colombia (ranked 4th), while the lowest-ranked team that did qualify was China PR (ranked 50th).