2002 World Cup: Brazil Win Their Record Breaking Fifth Title

On Monday 1 July 2002, barbers and hairdressers in Brazil had a busy day. Every boy in the country who was into football wanted a haircut like Ronaldo’s. The day before Japan and South Korea’s 2002 World Cup final, the striker had one of the weirdest hairdos ever (to say the least) in the tournament’s history.

His hair was shaped into a half moon in front of his forehead. Nonetheless, it seemed to give him luck. He scored two goals against Oliver Kahn’s Germany, reaching eight in the tournament and guaranteeing Brazil’s fifth title.

 

2002 World Cup Facts

Date: 31 May – 30 July 2002
Final: Germany – Brazil 0-2
3rd place: South Korea – Turkey 2-3
Teams: 32
Stadiums: 20
Host cities: 20
Matches played: 64
Goals: 161
Attendance: 2,705,197
Top scorer: Ronaldo (Brazil) (8 goals)

2002 FIFA World Cup Background

On May 31, 1996, FIFA decided the 17th FIFA World Cup would be hosted in continent Asia. Never in soccer history had Asia hosted this magnificent event.

For the first time in FIFA World Cup history, two countries would host the 2002 World Cup together: South Korea and Japan.

Initially, three countries showed interest in hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup and placed a bid. The countries were South Korea, Japan, and Mexico.

Shortly before the announcement about who would host the tournament, South Korea, and Japan united their bids. As a result, FIFA voted unanimously for this unique bid.

Another exciting aspect was that in 1996 when the announcement was made, Japan had never yet qualified for a FIFA World Cup Finals.

They would, however, qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Only two other countries have been awarded the responsibility of hosting without ever qualifying. They are Italy which hosted the 1934 edition, and Qatar for the 2022 World Cup.

2002 World Cup Participants

For the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 199 countries tried to qualify. Only 29 of the 32 places were available since Japan and South Korea qualified automatically as host countries.

The successful national team France qualified automatically since they won the previous tournament. However, this would be the last time the previous FIFA World Cup winner would automatically qualify for the next finals.

Thirteen European places, excluding France, were allocated to the following countries: Denmark, Spain, Slovenia, Turkey, Portugal, Poland, Germany, Sweden, England, Italy, Croatia, Belgium, and Russia.

Slovenia qualified for its first World Cup since the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. Turkey qualified for the first time since 1954, and Portugal for the first time since 1986.

Five African places were allocated to the following countries: Senegal, South Africa, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Tunisia. Senegal qualified for their first World Cup soccer tournament.

Four places for South America were allocated to the following countries: Paraguay, Ecuador, Brazil, and Argentina. Ecuador qualified for the first time at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Three places for North and Central America and the Caribbean were allocated to the following countries: Costa Rica, Mexico, and United States.

Two places for Asia, excluding South Korea and Japan, were allocated to the following countries: China and Saudi Arabia

China qualified for the first time. South Korea became the first country outside Europe, South America, North and Central America, and the Caribbean to qualify for the fifth successive finals tournament.

Two intercontinental play-offs had to be played by four countries that didn’t qualify directly:

• UEFA country Republic of Ireland against AFC country Iran and CONMEBOL country Uruguay against OFC country Australia.
• Republic of Ireland and Uruguay won these play-offs and qualified last minute for the 2002 World Cup.

So far, all seven FIFA World Cup winners participated together for the first time: Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Uruguay.

They have all participated before in the 1986 World Cup, but France (France ’98 champion) wasn’t a World Cup champion.

2002 World Cup Draw

World Cup fans enjoyed a spectacular show and exciting matches following the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final Draw. A draw televised in more than 130 countries worldwide was held in the Korean coastal city of Busan, home to the magnificent Busan Exhibition & Convention Centre (BEXCO).

Anastacia performed Boom, the official song of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, for the first time. A big “boom” would be generated by the draw itself. Around the auditorium, gasps were heard from one group in particular. The members of Group F were Argentina, England, Nigeria, and Sweden.

France, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Italy, the Korea Republic, and Japan were seeded in eight groups of four teams, which is the same format as in 1998.

2002 World Cup  Groups

The exact format of the 1998 FIFA World Cup was used again. A round-robin format was played, meaning all teams had to play against all the other teams in their group.

Three points were rewarded in the group stage for a win and 1 point for a draw. The last two matches per group would be played at the same time.

The two best teams per group would advance to Round 16, where the knockout stage started.

The number 1 team of a group had to play against the number 2 team of another. If the game ended in a draw, 30 minutes of extra time would have to be played.

If the draw continues, the winner will be determined by a penalty shootout. After the Round of 16, teams could advance to the Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals before reaching the Final.

The 2002 World Cup would already be the last to use the Golden Goal rule. This was introduced in 1998.

When a goal was scored in the 30 minutes of extra time, the match ended immediately. The rule was activated in this FIFA World Cup.

The eight seed countries were Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Spain. They were kept apart from each other and were placed in different groups.

The groups were as follows:

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Denmark	Spain	Brazil	South Korea
Senegal	Paraguay	Turkey	United States
Uruguay	South Africa	Costa Rica	Portugal
France	Slovenia	China	Poland

Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Germany	Sweden	Mexico	Japan
Republic of Ireland	England	Italy	Belgium
Cameroon	Argentina	Croatia	Russia
Saudi Arabia	Nigeria	Ecuador	Tunisia

2002 FIFA World Cup Stadiums

Since the two countries hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the number of stadiums had to be divided.

Both South Korea and Japan used ten cities and ten stadiums each. The majority of these stadiums were specially built for the tournament.

The opening match would be hosted in South Korea, in the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Japan, in return, would host the Final in the International Stadium Yokohama.

The following ten cities and ten stadiums were used in South Korea:

Seoul World Cup Stadium

Location: Seoul
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 64,677
Matches: 3
Status: Sangam Stadium is the 2nd most famous South Korean stadium and looks like a traditional Korean kite.

Daegu World Cup Stadium

Location: Daegu
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 65,857
Matches: 4
Status: It is named Daegu stadium, is also known as Blue Arc, and was built for the FIFA World Cup.

Busan Asiad Stadium

Location: Busan
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 54,534
Matches: 3
Status: It is a multi-purpose stadium built for the 2002 Asian Games.

Incheon Munhak Stadium

Location: Incheon
Opened: 2002
Capacity: 50,324
Matches: 3
Status: Also known as the Muhak Stadium and was specially built for the FIFA World Cup.

Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium

Location: Ulsan
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 43,512
Matches: 3
Status: It is nicknamed Big Crown Stadium, and its shape is that of a skull crown that symbolizes Silla and Bangudae Petroglyphs.

Suwon World Cup Stadium

Location: Suwon
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 43,188
Matches: 4
Status: Also known as Big Bird Stadium and was specially built for the FIFA World Cup.

Gwangju World Cup Stadium

Location: Gwangju
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 42,880
Matches: 3
Status: It is also called the Guus Hiddink Stadium since he was the trainer of South Korea, which beat Spain in this stadium and advanced to the 2002 World Cup semi-finals for the first time.

Jeonju World Cup Stadium

Location: Jeonju
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 42,477
Matches: 3
Status: Nicknamed Jeonju Castle and was specially built for the 2002 World Cup.

Daejeon World Cup Stadium

Location: Daejeon
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 41,000
Matches: 3
Status: Nicknamed Purple Arena and was specially built for the FIFA World Cup.

Jeju World Cup Stadium

Location: Jeju
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 42,256
Matches: 3
Status: The shape resembles a mouth of a volcano, and its roof is in the form of nets of traditional fishing boats in Jeju.

Japan Stadiums

International Stadium Yokohama

Location: Yokohama
Opened: 1998
Capacity: 72,370
Matches: 4
Status: It is also known as Nissan Stadium and is the biggest stadium in Japan.

Saitama Stadium 2002

Location: Saitama
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 63,700
Matches: 4
Status: Often called Saisuta and is one of the largest football stadiums in Asia.

Shizuoka “Ecopa” Stadium

Location: Shizuoka
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 51,349
Matches: 3
Status: It is mainly used for football and was built for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Nagai Stadium

Location: Osaka
Opened: 1964
Capacity: 50,000
Matches: 3
Status: It is an athletic stadium and was renovated in 2007.

Miyagi Stadium

Location: Miyagi
Opened: 2000
Capacity: 49,133
Matches: 3
Status: It is an athletic stadium known for its distinctive appearance.

Oita Stadium

Location: Oita
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 43,000
Matches: 3
Status: It is a multi-purpose stadium and has a retractable dome roof.

Niigata Stadium

Location: Niigata
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 42,300
Matches: 3
Status: It goes by the name Tohoku Electric Power Big Swan Stadium and is an athletic stadium.

Kashima Soccer Stadium

Location: Ibaraki
Opened: 1993
Capacity: 41,800
Matches: 3
Status: It is a football stadium and was expanded in 2001 for the 2002 World Cup.

Kobe Wing Stadium

Location: Kobe
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 42,000
Matches: 3
Status: It goes by the name Kobe City Misaki Park Stadium and contains a retractable roof.

Sapporo Dome

Location: Sapporo
Opened: 2001
Capacity: 42,585
Matches: 3
Status: Mostly used for football and basketball and has a retractable surface

FIFA 2002 Memorable Matches

France – Senegal 0-1

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul – Attendance: 62,561

France showed an excellent performance four years earlier to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy.

But four years later, France finished last in Group A. Their first loss was against Senegal.

Senegal played their first FIFA World Cup and surprised the world by scoring the winning goal in the first half. Bouba Diop was the goal scorer achieved their first World Cup points.

The Senegalese players celebrated the first 2002 World Cup goal famously by moving around Diop’s jersey and some dancing.

Senegal drew the two other matches against Denmark and Uruguay. As a result, both Senegal and Denmark advanced to the Round of 16.

Spain – Paraguay 3-1

Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju – Attendance: 24,000

Spain easily survived the group stage and topped the group. In each match, they scored three goals. However, in this match against Paraguay, only Spanish players scored.

The match started with an early goal for Paraguay, but this was an own goal by defender Carles Puyol. Then, in the 2nd half, Fernando Morientes (2) and Fernando Hierro scored the three goals for Spain.

Paraguay did advance, but they were very close to becoming eliminated. South Africa had the same points and goal difference as Paraguay.

But the difference was that Paraguay scored one more goal in the group stage than South Africa.

Brazil – Turkey 2-1

Munsu Cup Stadium, Ulsan – Attendance: 33,842

As with Spain, Brazil had no trouble reaching the knockout rounds.

Their most challenging match was against Turkey. Hasan Sas scored the first goal of the game in the first half.

Ronaldo scored the equalizer, and Rivaldo scored a penalty three minutes before full time.

Rivaldo was involved in a controversial accident. Turkish defender Hakan Unsal kicked the ball to Rivaldo, who was waiting at the corner flag for a corner.

The ball reached his thigh, but Rivaldo suddenly fell to the ground grabbing his face. It is evident though the ball didn’t even come near his face. But the referee gave Hakan Unsal his 2nd yellow card, and he was sent off.

Both countries advanced. They would meet each other again later in the tournament.

USA – Portugal 3-2

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon – Attendance: 37,306

This match was one of the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals surprises. Portugal had known players such as Rui Costa, Luis Figo, Joao Pinto, and trainer Paulo Bento.

It was highly expected that Portugal would win their group, but this didn’t happen. Their first surprising loss was against the USA.

American midfielder John O’Brien scored for the USA. Twenty-five minutes later, Portuguese Jorge Costa scored an own goal.

American Brian McBride and Portuguese Beto scored for their countries, ending the first half in 3-1.

In the 2nd half, American defender Jeff Agoos scored an own goal. This is so far the only FIFA World Cup match where two own goals have been scored.

Germany – Saudi Arabia 8-0

Sapporo Dome, Sapporo – Attendance: 32,218

Germany started the tournament with an impressive victory: 8-0 against Saudi Arabia.

Miroslav Klose scored a hat trick with his head! This was the second time in FIFA World Cup history that a player in one match scored three headers!

Other players who have scored are Michael Ballack, Carsten Jancker, Thomas Linke, Oliver Bierhoff and Bernd Schneider.

Germany topped the group and advanced together with the Republic of Ireland.

Argentina – England 0-1

Sapporo Dome, Sapporo – Attendance: 35,927

As with France, Argentina played one of their worst World Cup performance in 2002. Argentina only won the first match against Nigeria.

In this match where the rivals England and Argentina played each other, it was England which was finally able to defeat Argentina. David Beckham scored the only goal, which was a penalty.

The last time England was able to defeat Argentina in FIFA World Cup finals was back in 1966. In the 1986 and 1998 World Cups, Argentina ended up being the winner.

Compared to previous encounters, this match didn’t include that bitterness that affected the 1966, 1986, and 1998 encounters.

England advanced with Sweden, but both had equal points and goal differences. However, Sweden did score more goals than England, which resulted in topping Group F. Argentina was eliminated in the first round. The last time this happened to Argentina was back in 1962.

Mexico – Italy 1-1

Ōita Big Eye Stadium, Oita – attendance: 39,291

Mexico was the only country that didn’t lose a group match. So this match against Italy was their only draw.

Jared Borgetti scored the first goal of the match for Mexico. Alessandro Del Piero scored for Italy 5 minutes before full time.

Although Italy lost against Croatia, they did advance to the Round of 16 with Mexico.

Japan – Belgium 2-2

Saitama Stadium, Saitama – Attendance: 55,256

Japan played a better 2002 World Cup than four years earlier. Japan didn’t lose a single group match.

In this match against Belgium, the score ended in a draw. The four goals were scored in the 2nd half in less than 20 minutes.

Belgian midfielder Marc Wilmots scored first. Takayuki Suzuki responded 2 minutes later with Japan’s first goal. Then, Junichi Inamoto scored to make it 2-1.

Eight minutes later, Belgian left-back Peter Van Der Heyden scored the match’s final goal.

Belgium finished 2nd and advanced to the next round. Host country Japan topped the group and reached the Round of 16 together with the other host country South Korea of Group D. This was the first time Japan reached the Round of 16.

Sweden – Senegal 1-2

Ōita Stadium, Oita – Attendance: 39,747

Senegal already surprised the world by defeating France and advancing to the next round.

They continued this run by defeating Sweden and advancing to the Quarter-Final. Swedish striker Henrik Larsson scored the first goal, and striker Henri Camara scored for Senegal.

In the 2nd half, no goals were scored, resulting in extra time. Henri Camara again scored, but this time it was a Golden Goal.

Sweden was immediately eliminated. Senegal became the 2nd African country to have accomplished this after Cameroon in 1990.

Spain – Republic of Ireland 1-1 (3-2)

Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon – Attendance: 38,926

For a long time throughout the match, it seemed Spain would win and move to the Semi-Final. However, Fernando Morientes scored in the 8th minute of the game.

The 1-0 score didn’t change until the very last minute. The Republic of Ireland was awarded a penalty in the 90th minute and successfully taken by Robbie Keane.

Suddenly extra time had to be played, but no golden goals were scored.

Although the Republic of Ireland had the advantage of a higher euphoria due to their last-minute goal, they lost. Only Robbie Keane and Steve Finnan scored their penalties.

Matt Holland, David Connolly and Kevin Kilbane missed. Fernando Hierro, Rubén Baraja and Gaizka Mendieta scored for Spain.

Only Juanfran and Juan Valerón missed. As a result, Spain advanced to play against South Korea.

Mexico – USA 0-2

Jeonju World Cup Stadium, Jeonju – Attendance: 36,380

Rivals Mexico and USA encountered each other for the first time in FIFA World Cup history.

The match didn’t go as planned for Mexico. They were unable to score any goals. Instead, American forwards Brian McBride, and Landon Donovan scored the only goals of the match.

Mexico couldn’t survive the Round of 16 stages for the third World Cup in a row. Unfortunately for Mexico, they haven’t played a Quarter Final yet since 1986.

The USA had reason to celebrate. This is the first time they reached a Quarter-Final in the history of FIFA World Cup. They reached the semi-finals in the very first FIFA World Cup back in 1930, but there was no quarter-finals stage in that tournament.

South Korea – Italy 2-1

Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon – Attendance: 38,588

A highly controversial match was the Round of 16 match between South Korea against Italy. This is because the mistakes that referee Byron Moreno made were so controversial.

Italian players like striker Francesco Totti and coach Giovanni Trapattoni suggested a conspiracy to eliminate Italy from the tournament.

It started with a controversial penalty awarded to South Korea that Ahn Jung-Hwan missed. Italian striker Christian Vieri scored an early goal later in the match.
With two minutes remaining before full time, striker Seol Ki-Hyeon scored the equalizer. Extra time had to be played.

Italian Damiano Tommasi scored a Golden Goal, but this was controversially ruled offside. Another controversial decision by the referee was giving Francesco Totti his 2nd yellow card in extra time since he supposedly dived.

Three minutes before extra time would end, striker Ahn Jung-Hwan scored the Golden Goal: a powerful header. Italy was eliminated.

References after the match were made to the infamous 1966 World Cup match between Italy against North Korea, in which Italy lost 1-0. This time South Korea advanced to the Quarter-Finals.

England – Brazil 1-2 (Quarter-Finals)

Shizuoka Stadium, Shizuoka – attendance: 47,436

In this exciting match, free kick specialist Ronaldinho became the hero. English striker Michael Owen scored the first goal due to a mistake by defender Lucio.

Rivaldo equalized in injury time of the first half. Then, early in the 2nd half, Ronaldinho took a free kick from a very long distance and surprisingly ended up in the net.

Goalkeeper David Seaman was not standing in the correct starting position. As a result, Brazil advanced to the Semi-Finals. David Seaman blamed himself for losing to Brazil.

Spain – South Korea 0-0 (3-5)

Gwangju World Cup Stadium, Gwangju – Attendance: 42,114

Another controversial match was against Spain. No goals were scored in regular and extra time. However, two goals were controversially disallowed.

The first was a free kick by Javier de Pedro. The second was Joaquin giving a high pass to Fernando Morientes, who scored with a header.

The referee thought the ball had already crossed the corner line before the given pass, but it wasn’t.

After 120 minutes, the penalty shootout had to decide who advanced to the Semi-Final. After Spain won the penalty shootout against the Republic of Ireland in their previous match, they failed this time.

Every South Korean penalty taker scored their penalty successfully. They were Hwang Sun-Hong, Park Ji-Sung, Seol Ki-Hyeon, Ahn Jung-Hwan and Hong Myung-Bo.

From Spain Fernando Hierro, Rubén Baraja and Xavi scored a penalty. Joaquín Sánchez missed.

South Korea became the first Asian country in FIFA World Cup history to advance to the Semi-Finals.

Germany – South Korea 1-0 (Semi-Finals)

Seoul World Cup Stadium, Seoul – Attendance: 65,256

South Korea’s chances of becoming a world champion ended here. But it was a close call. Only 1 goal decided the outcome of the match.

German midfielder Michael Ballack scored this goal. South Korea had to play the match for third place, and Germany advanced to the Final.

Brazil – Turkey 1-0 (Semi-Finals)

Saitama Stadium, Saitama – Attendance: 61,058

For a 2nd time, these nations met again in the same tournament. This was the moment for Turkey to revenge itself for their loss.

Turkey lost their first encounter due to Rivaldo’s last-minute penalty. But in this semi final, Turkey had trouble defeating Brazil again.

Brazilian striker Ronaldo scored the only goal of the semi-final. Nevertheless, Brazil advanced to the Final just like in France ’98. Turkey would play a memorable match for third place against South Korea.

South Korea – Turkey 2-3 (Third Place Match)

Daegu World Cup Stadium, Daegu – Attendance: 63,483

Turkey and South Korea never played a Semi-Final or match for third place.

The match started with the quickest goal scored in 2002 World Cup history. Turkish striker Hakan Sukur scored in the first minute of the game. South Korean midfielder Lee Eul-Yong equalized 9 minutes later.

Turkish striker Ilhan Mansız scored four minutes later and again in the 32nd minute.

The 1-3 score remained for the majority of the 2nd half. Only in the last minutes of injury time did Song Chong-Gug score the second goal for South Korea.

Turkey won the match, but this didn’t matter much in the end. Both countries performed excellently and ended the 2002 FIFA World Cup by walking together as one, honoring the crowd.

South Korean trainer Guus Hiddink from the Netherlands also became the center of attention. As a result, South Korea became the first non-European and non-American country to have made it to a World Cup Semi-Final.

So this alone was a unique and legendary achievement already.

The 2002 World Cup Final

Brazil and Germany: the most successful teams in FIFA World Cup history. Both teams made it to the final match several times, but this was the first time they encountered each other in the history of the tournament.

After Brazil lost 1998 final, it once again had a chance to become the first country to win five World Cups. Brazilian captain and player Cafu is the only player to have played three FIFA World Cup Finals (1994, 1998, 2002). Brazil had a smooth road to the Final.

After 12 years, Germany managed to reach the Final again. However, this was the first time Germany reached the Final as Germany instead of West Germany.

They won most 2002 FIFA World Cup matches, including a remarkable 8-0 win in their first match against Saudi Arabia. They drew against the Republic of Ireland (1-1).

A crucial player who would miss the Final was Michael Ballack. He received his first yellow card against Paraguay and second against South Korea. On the 30th of June 2002, the Final was held in the International Stadium Yokohama in Japan, with an attendance of 69,029.

Due to an excellent collaboration between Ronaldo and Rivaldo, Brazil scored in the 67th and 79th minutes. With the first goal, German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn made a mistake by not holding the ball after Rivaldo’s shot. This resulted in Ronaldo scoring the first goal.

Brazil became the first country to win a World Cup five times and the most successful national team. Ronaldo became the top scorer with eight goals scored in the tournament. The trauma from the 1998 tournament final was finally over.

After Germany’s loss, they have the unfortunate record of losing a World Cup Final four times.

Highlights Of The 2002 World Cup

For the first time in history, the 2002 FIFA World Cup was hosted by two countries. Japan and South Korea shared the responsibility of staging the tournament.

The final was played in Japan, but Korea fared better in the competition.

The Brazil national team beat Portugal and Poland in the first stage and then knocked out Italy in the round of 16 and Spain in the quarter-final.

With their fans over the moon, the Koreans were only stopped in the semi-final, when they lost to Germany. In the end, they made history, finishing in fourth place.

The Japanese did not do too badly themselves. The home fans’ support was enough to steer Japan to their first 2002 World Cup match win and push them into the knockout stage for the first time in history.

Japan beat Russia and Tunisia and drew with Belgium in the group stage, qualifying first in their group. However, their joy did not last long: in the round of 16, they were surprised by Turkey and lost.

The Senegal Journey In 2022 World Cup

Despite falling victim to Turkey in the quarter-final, Senegal was a great surprise. Following the African tradition of playing joyful football, Senegal showed their strength in their first match, beating the then FIFA World Cup holders France 1-0.

Then, two draws with Denmark and Uruguay. In the round of 16, they pulled off an impressive victory over Senegal, which put them amongst the World Cup’s eight best teams.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup round of 16 had teams from five different confederations for the first time.

In addition to France, Portugal and Argentina did not get through the group stage. The Portuguese, who had Luis Figo, were beaten by the United States in their first match and were unable to recover.

The Americans managed their best campaign in history by beating Mexico and qualifying for the quarter-final when they lost to Germany.

The Scolari Family

As in 1994, qualifying for the 2002 World Cup was by no means easy for Brazil.

In the 2001 Copa America, Brazil experienced what could be considered one of its biggest embarrassments in history: they lost 2-0 to Honduras, considered a relatively weak team.

They only booked their place in the 2002 FIFA World Cup in the last round of qualifiers with a victory over Venezuela.

Once more, the people wanted Romario. However, manager Luiz Felipe Scolari had none of it.

Big Phil had closed the group, trusted the players he called up, and guaranteed they were united. The group of players was known as the ‘Scolari Family.’

Brazil did not face a lot of difficulties in the group stage of the 2002 World Cup. Three straight victories. Turkey made them work hard but ended up losing 2-1. Then, two convincing wins over China and Costa Rica.

2002 FIFA World Cup Journey For Brazil

In the round of 16, a hard match against Belgium. The 2-0 score at the end in Brazil’s favor did not truly reflect some of the obstacles they had to overcome in order to guarantee the win.

Belgium defended and marked hard and threatened at some points. But Rivaldo and Ronaldo got on the scoresheet to ensure Brazil’s victory.

David Beckham’s England was the opponent in the 2002 FIFA World Cup quarter-final.

The dream of winning the fifth title almost went out of their grasp when Michael Owen made the most of a mistake by Lucio and opened the score. But Brazil had Ronaldinho.

Ronaldinho

The Brazilian midfielder was a 22-year-old kid who played for Paris Saint-Germain, yet to become the footballer who conquered the world with Barcelona’s jersey.

And it was against the English that he began to draw everyone’s attention. First, he made a beautiful move in the midfield and released Rivaldo with a perfect pass.

Then, from a free-kick, he lobbed the English keeper David Seaman and scored Brazil’s second. To this day, people argue over whether he meant to shoot or cross. What was important was that the ball ended up in the back of the net.

The Rematch

The 2002 FIFA World Cup semi-final was a rematch with Turkey. Brazil had already beaten them in the group stage and thus, was the hot favorite to do it again.

However, the defensive system used by Turkey was even more potent than in the previous match. A toe kick from Ronaldo was enough to put Brazil in their third consecutive final since 1994.

Oliver Kahn And The Final

The 2002 World Cup final brought two world football giants to face: Brazil and Germany. There were seven world titles on the soccer field: Brazil looking for its fifth, and the Germans for their fourth.

Curiously, they had never played each other in FIFA World Cups before. But, with six goals scored in the tournament until then, Ronaldo had proved to the world that he had recovered.

After suffering many injuries and being somewhat discredited, the striker was ready to make his comeback.

Germany had goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who FIFA chose as the best player of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. But Ronaldo scored two in the final, finishing the tournament as top scorer, winning Brazil its fifth title, and then was elected FIFA world player of the year in 2002.

The only problem is that the pictures remind everyone of that weird haircut from the 2002 World Cup.

2002 World Cup  Mascot

The 2002 FIFA World Cup mascot was different and unique from the previous mascots.

After two animal mascots of the 1994 and 1998 tournaments, a fantasy character was introduced like Ciao, the 1990 FIFA World Cup mascot.

Not only was it a fantasy character, but the mascot also contained a total of 3 fantasy characters and was created by futuristic computer-generated animation.
The three characters go by the names Ato (orange), Kaz (purple), and Nik (blue), and together they are called the Spheriks.

The names were chosen through a vote by football fans from around the world at McDonald’s restaurants in South Korea and Japan.

Another unique aspect of the mascot was the detailed story that involved the Spheriks. They live high in the sky on planet Atmozone where they are members of the Atmos team of a fictional sport called Atmoball or Spherikball.

Ato is the coach, and Kaz and Nik are the key players. Its mission is to create a unique and wonderful atmosphere in the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Another unique aspect was that the mascot didn’t relate much to the host countries. For example, no colors or attributes could be connected to the host countries.

A connection could be that Asia is known for its animation and enchanting ancient myths, characters, and stories.

2002 World Cup Songs

The 2002 FIFA World Cup contained an official anthem. The name is Anthem, produced by famous Greek ‘Conquest of Paradise’ and ‘Chariots of Fire’ composer Vangelis.

Anthem is mixed by Japanese composer and producer Takkyu Ishino and has, therefore, has that electronic up-tempo beat. This beat perfectly fits the hype, adrenaline, and sensation of an epic World Cup.

The official 2002 FIFA World Cup song was a very different type of production than the anthem called Boom. Boom is performed by American singer-songwriter, Anastacia. She performed this English song at the opening ceremony of the World Cup. The music video shows legendary moments in tournament history.

Another popular song is also considered an official 2002 FIFA World Cup song. The name is Let’s Get Together Now, performed by the supergroup Voice of Korea/Japan. South Korean singers Lena Park and Brown Eyes participated, and from Japan singer, Sowelu and pop duo Chemistry participated.

There exists a Japanese version and a South Korean version, but the mixed version is the tune of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Let’s Get Together Now was also performed at the opening and closing ceremony and has proven to be pretty popular.

2002 World Cup Records

• Four countries qualified for the first time: China, Ecuador, Senegal, and Slovenia.
• The first time Slovenia qualified since the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.
• First FIFA World Cup to be hosted in continent Asia.
• First World Cup that’s been hosted in 2 countries.
• By becoming the 2002 World Cup winner, Brazil is the only country to have won five World Cups.
• Brazil became the only team since Argentina in the 1986 FIFA World Cup to win the tournament without playing extra time and penalty shootouts.
• Brazil became the second country to play three consecutive FIFA World Cup Finals (1994, 1998, 2002).
• Brazil won every match the second time before winning the Final (first time: 1970).
• Sixth time a nation has won every game before winning the Final.
• South Korea became the first country outside Europe, South America, and North/Central America to qualify for the five successive World Cup finals in a row.
• A low record amount of only two penalty shootouts have been taken in this World Cup since the round of 16 made its introduction in the 1986 tournament.
• First-time teams from Europe, South America, North America, Asia, and Africa reached together the Quarter-Finals.
• Twenty stadiums were used in this World Cup. (new record).
• Brazilian captain and player Cafu is the first and only player to have played 3 FIFA World Cup Finals (1994, 1998, 2002).

• France is the third country that didn’t make it to the 2nd round after winning the previous World Cup.
• Germany has a record of having lost a FIFA World Cup Final four times.
• Turkish player Hakan Sukur scored the fastest goal in World Cup history: 11 seconds after the match for the third-place kick-off against South Korea.
• The quickest yellow card in FIFA World Cup history given to a substitute was South Korean player Cha Du-Ri, who came in the first round match against Poland during injury time and was booked only after 20 seconds.
• The group match USA – Portugal (3-2) is the first and only World Cup match so far where two own goals have been scored (by Jorge Costa and Jeff Agoos).
• Argentinian player Claudio Caniggia is the only player in FIFA World Cup history to have received a red card from the bench (for cursing the referee in the match against Sweden).
• Germany player Miroslav Klose scored a hat-trick only with his head against Saudi Arabia (8-0). This had happened only once in FIFA World Cup history, where in 1990, Czechoslovakia player Tomas Skuhravy scored three times with the head against Costa Rica (4-1).
• German keeper Oliver Kahn is the only keeper in FIFA World Cup history to have won the Golden Ball.
• Brazilian striker Ronaldo is the third player to have won a Golden Ball (1998) and a Silver Ball (2002).
• Three matches ended due to the Golden Goal rule: Senegal – Sweden (2-1), South Korea – Italy (2-1), and Turkey – Senegal (1-0).
• Italian player Paolo Maldini (1990-2002) ranks second in most matches played in World Cups: (23) after German Lothar Matthäus, who played 25 in total.
• China coach Bora Milutinovic (from Yugoslavia) is the first person to have coached five different countries in a FIFA World Cup (Mexico in 1986, Costa Rica in 1990, the USA in 1994, Nigeria in 1998, and China in 2002).
• China coach Bora Milutinovic is the only coach to have taken four different teams beyond the first round of a World Cup ( Only China didn’t make it to the next round).
• Japan was the 2nd country to be chosen as a host country, never having played a FIFA World Cup before.

Did You Know

• Last FIFA World Cup that used the Golden Goal rule.
• Last World Cup, where the previous winner was automatically qualified.
• Teams were now allowed to include 23 players instead of 22, but 3 keepers had to be included.
• All seven World Cup winners participated together: Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, and Uruguay.
• Last FIFA World Cup where the previous winner played the very first match.
• Germany and Brazil encountered each other for the first time in the Final.
• Brazilian player Ronaldo changed his hairstyle during the FIFA World Cup since his then young son thought player Roberto Carlos was his dad when seeing him on television.

• Cameroon players initially wanted to play with sleeveless shirts as has been done during the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, which they won, but this was not allowed by the FIFA Laws of the Game.
• Brazilian star Romario was considered to play in the 2002 World Cup but wasn’t selected due to indiscipline.
• Nigerian striker Julius Aghahowa celebrated his goal memorably in the match against Sweden by performing six perfect backflips.
• South Korean striker Ahn Jung-Hwan celebrated his equalizer memorably in the match against the USA by imitating a speed skater, referring to the controversial disqualification of Korean short track speed skater Kim Dong-Sung in the 1500 meters at the 2002 Winter Olympics, allowing American Apolo Ohno to win the gold medal.
• Irish key player Roy Keane was sent home since he was unsatisfied with the facilities and general preparation.
• Senegalese midfielder Khalilou Fadiga was accused of stealing a necklace from a jewelry shop in South Korea. However, the police dropped charges at the request of the shop owner, who displayed the necklace worth US$240 in his shop window, calling it Fadiga’s necklace.
• The then two weakest teams in the world, Bhutan and Montserrat, played a match, ‘The Other Final’ against each other a couple of hours before the two strongest teams would play against each other in the ‘real’ 2002 World Cup Final (Bhutan won with 4-0)
• English player Steven Gerrard missed this FIFA World Cup because of ongoing groin problems.

• The name of the match ball, Fevernova, was unlike other Adidas World Cups balls not related to the host country. Instead, the term emphasizes being a star in the FIFA World Cup.
• Fevernova match ball introduced a unique design, two enlarged triads with the colors grey, red, and gold, and they resemble the shuriken, a Japanese weapon.
• Fevernova match ball was not traditional white but more of a champagne color.
• The match ball featured a refined syntactic foam layer to give the ball superior performance characteristics and a three-layer knitted chassis allowing for a more precise and predictable flight path.
• Fevernova match ball was criticized for being too light and was blamed for several upsets in the knockout stages.

2022 FIFA Awards

Golden Ball: Oliver Kahn (Germany)
Silver Ball: Ronaldo (Brazil)
Bronze Ball: Hong Myung-Bo (South Korea)
Golden Boot: Ronaldo (Brazil) (8 goals)
Silver Boot: Miroslav Klose (Germany), Rivaldo (Brazil) (5 goals)
Bronze Boot: Jon Dahl Tomasson (Denmark), Christian Vieri (Italy) (4 goals)
Best Young Player Award: Landon Donovan (20 years old) (USA)
FIFA Fair Play Trophy: Belgium
Yashin Award: Oliver Kahn (Germany)
Most Entertaining Team: South Korea

2002 FIFA World Cup All-Star Team

Three nations are included for the first time: Turkey, South Korea, and Senegal. In addition, this is the first and last time Asian players are included in an All-Star Team.
Brazilian players Ronaldo, Roberto Carlos, and Rivaldo were selected for a second time.

Goalkeepers
Oliver Kahn (Germany)
Rustu Recber (Turkey)

Defenders
Roberto Carlos (Brazil)
Sol Campbell (England)
Fernando Hierro (Spain)
Hong Myung-Bo (South Korea)
Alpay Ozalan (Turkey)

Midfielders

Rivaldo (Brazil)
Ronaldinho (Brazil)
Michael Ballack (Germany)
Claudio Reyna (USA)
Yoo Sang-Chul (South Korea)

Forwards

Ronaldo (Brazil)
Miroslav Klose (Germany)
El Hadji Diouf (Turkey)
Hasan Sas (Turkey)