2002 FIFA World Cup

Lore & Background

The tournament featured several upsets, including defending champions France eliminated in the group stage with one point and no goals, and Argentina also eliminated in the group stage. South Korea reached the semi-finals, beating Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain, becoming the first team from outside UEFA, CONMEBOL, and CONCACAF to do so. Turkey also reached the semi-finals for the first time and won third place against South Korea 3–2, scoring the fastest goal in World Cup history (10.8 seconds). The 2002 World Cup was the last to use the golden goal rule and the last in which defending champions automatically qualified.

In Their Own Story

The stadium in South Korea hummed with a low, electric tension. Mexican fans in the stands had draped themselves in green, white, and red, their voices a sustained drone that swallowed the wind off the coast. Blanco, lanky and restless on the wing, kept his eyes on the ball as it circled the box. The cross came in, high and looping, and he rose—shoulders squared, neck craned—and the ball kissed the underside of the net with a soft, definitive thud. The roar that followed was not a cheer; it was a release, as if the entire nation had been holding its breath since 1994. He pointed at the sky, then at the fans, and smiled the way a kid smiles after scoring his first goal. For ninety seconds, Mexico was invincible. Then the whistle blew, and the long, slow deflation of the next two matches began.

Reader's Guide

The tournament was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, selected on 31 May 1996 after Mexico's bid was rejected. 20 stadia were used, 10 in each country. Groups A–D played in South Korea, Groups E–H in Japan. 32 teams qualified, including four debutants: China, Ecuador, Senegal, and Slovenia. Senegal was the only debutant to advance from the group stage, reaching the quarter-finals. The final was held at International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan.

Did You Know?

• This was the first World Cup to be hosted by more than one country.
• South Korea became the first team from outside Europe or the Americas to appear in five successive finals tournaments.
• Turkey scored the fastest goal in World Cup history (10.8 seconds) in the third-place match.
• The 2002 World Cup was the last to use the golden goal rule and the same ball for all matches.