Description

The course of the 2002 World Cup

The championships in South Korea and Japan began with quite a surprise, because in the opening match France, defending the title, lost to Senegal, making its debut at the tournament, which in addition was called by some “France B” because almost all the players of this team played in France.

France ultimately failed to even advance from the group stage, while Senegal reached, as the second-ever team from Africa, the quarterfinals. There it lost after extra time (and a golden goal) to Turkey, which reached a historic 3rd place at this championship, in addition scoring the fastest goal in the history of the World Cup in the bronze medal match against South Korea (3-2) (it was scored by Hakan Şükür, and the goal came 10.8 seconds after the start of the match).

The tournament got off to an excellent start for the German national team, which crushed Saudi Arabia 8–0 in its first game. Later results were not so impressive, but the Germans consistently pushed forward (in round of 16, quarterfinal and semifinal they won their matches 1–0 each), reaching the final.

The second finalist was Brazil, which won every game at this tournament. In the match for gold at the International Stadium Yokohama they were also victorious, beating Germany 2-0. Both goals were scored by Ronaldo, increasing his tally to eight goals, with which he became the undisputed top scorer of the tournament. For the Canarinhos, it was their fifth world championship, improving their own record.

Both hosts managed to advance from the group stage. The Japanese ended their participation in round of 16, while South Korea, considered weaker, caused a sensation by reaching the semifinals and eventually taking 4th place. In the opinion of many, the Koreans would not have made it this far had it not been for controversial referee decisions made in their favor.