Editing 2002 FIFA World Cup (section)

==Qualification==
{{Main|2002 FIFA World Cup qualification}}

199 teams attempted to qualify for the 2002 World Cup. The qualification process began with the preliminary draw held in Tokyo on 7 December 1999. Defending [[1998 FIFA World Cup Final|champions]] [[France national football team|France]] and co-hosts [[South Korea national football team|South Korea]] and [[Japan national football team|Japan]] qualified automatically and did not have to play any qualification matches. This was the final World Cup in which the defending champions qualified automatically.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/nov/30/worldcupfootball2002.sport1|title=Fifa forces World Cup winners to qualify|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=30 November 2001|access-date=6 March 2018|archive-date=6 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180306082713/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2001/nov/30/worldcupfootball2002.sport1|url-status=live}}</ref>

14 places were contested by [[UEFA]] teams (Europe), five by [[Confederation of African Football|CAF]] teams (Africa), four by [[CONMEBOL]] teams (South America), four by [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]] teams (Asia) and three by [[CONCACAF]] teams (North and Central America and the Caribbean). The remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and UEFA and between CONMEBOL and [[Oceania Football Confederation|OFC]] (Oceania). Four nations qualified for the finals for the first time: [[China national football team|China]], [[Ecuador national football team|Ecuador]], [[Senegal national football team|Senegal]] and [[Slovenia national football team|Slovenia]]. As of 2022, this was the last occasion on which the [[Republic of Ireland national football team|Republic of Ireland]] and [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]] qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, and the only time that China have qualified, as well as the last time that [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] and [[Switzerland national football team|Switzerland]] failed to qualify.

Turkey qualified for the first time since 1954, Poland and Portugal both qualified for the first time since 1986 and Costa Rica and Uruguay qualified for the first time since 1990. Sweden, Russia and the Republic of Ireland also returned after missing the 1998 World Cup. 1998 semi-finalists the [[Netherlands national football team|Netherlands]], three-time participants in the 1990s [[Romania national football team|Romania]] and [[Colombia national football team|Colombia]], and [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]], [[Morocco national football team|Morocco]] and [[Norway national football team|Norway]], who had participated in the previous two finals tournaments, alongside [[Austria national football team|Austria]], [[Chile national football team|Chile]], [[Iran national football team|Iran]], [[Jamaica national football team|Jamaica]], [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] and [[Serbia and Montenegro national football team|Yugoslavia]] which participated in the latest edition, failed to qualify. South Korea set a record by appearing in a fifth successive finals tournament, the first nation from outside Europe or the Americas to achieve this feat.

All seven previous World Cup-winning nations ([[Argentina national football team|Argentina]], [[Brazil national football team|Brazil]], [[England national football team|England]], [[France national football team|France]], [[Germany national football team|Germany]], [[Italy national football team|Italy]], and [[Uruguay national football team|Uruguay]]) qualified, which broke the record of most previous champions at a tournament before the record was broken again in 2014. The highest ranked team not to qualify for the 2002 finals was Colombia (ranked 4th), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was China PR (ranked 50th).

===List of qualified teams===
The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings,<ref>{{cite web|title=FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking (15 May 2002)|url=https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=97/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026211858/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/rank=97/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 October 2015|work=FIFA.com|publisher=FIFA|access-date=12 September 2013|date=15 May 2002}}</ref> qualified for the final tournament:
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;[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)|AFC]] (4)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|CHN}} (50)}} (debut)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|JPN}} (32) (co-hosts)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|KSA}} (34)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|KOR|1997}} (40) (co-hosts)}}
;[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)|CAF]] (5)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|CMR}} (17)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|NGA}} (27)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|SEN}} (42)}} (debut)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|RSA}} (37)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|TUN}} (31)}}
;[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)|OFC]] (0)
* ''None qualified''
{{col-4}}
;[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)|CONCACAF]] (3)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|CRC}} (29)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|MEX}} (7)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|USA|1960}} (13)}}
;[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)|CONMEBOL]] (5)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|ARG|1861}} (3)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|BRA}} (2)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|ECU|1900}} (36)}} (debut)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|PAR|1990}} (18)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|URU}} (24)}}
{{col-4}}
;[[2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)|UEFA]] (15)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|BEL}} (23)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|CRO}} (21)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|DEN}} (20)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|ENG}} (12)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|FRA|1974}} (1)}} (holders)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|GER}} (11)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|ITA|1946}} (6)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|POL}} (38)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|POR}} (5)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|IRL}} (15)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|RUS}} (28)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|SVN}} (25)}} (debut)
* {{nowrap|{{fb|ESP}} (8)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|SWE}} (19)}}
* {{nowrap|{{fb|TUR}} (22)}}
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[[File:2002 FIFA World Cup qualification.png|thumb|upright=1.5|{{legend|#000cff|Countries qualified for the World Cup}} {{legend|#ffb400|Country did not qualify}} {{legend|black|Countries that did not enter the World Cup}} {{legend|#ababab|Country not a FIFA member}}]]
{{col-end}}