There are World Cups you remember for the football. Then there is 2002.
South Korea's run to the semi-finals remains the most debated achievement in the tournament's modern era — not because the players were undeserving of credit, but because the path there was littered with decisions that the sport never fully explained. Italy eliminated. Spain eliminated. Both in circumstances that, to this day, produce strong reactions in equal measure.
What Actually Happened
Against Italy in the round of sixteen, a Totti goal was disallowed for a foul that looked marginal at best. Golden goal. South Korea through. Against Spain in the quarter-finals, two Spanish goals were ruled out — the second of which, by Fernando Morientes, remains genuinely difficult to justify on replay. Spain lost on penalties.
The refereeing across those two matches was poor enough that FIFA later took action on the officials involved. That is not a conspiracy theory. That is documented.
And yet.
South Korea were not a passive side waiting for gifts. They pressed with intensity that was unusual for the era, covered ground relentlessly, and carried the weight of a co-hosting nation's expectations without buckling. Guus Hiddink built a side that was genuinely hard to play against. The semi-final against Germany was competitive. The third-place play-off against Turkey produced real football.
The problem is that the controversy and the quality became inseparable. You cannot tell the story of one without the other.
Why It Still Matters
2002 was the moment the global football community started asking serious questions about refereeing accountability at the highest level — questions that eventually fed into the long, grinding road toward VAR. The anger was not just from Italy and Spain. It was widespread enough that FIFA had to respond.
For South Korea, the legacy is complicated. A generation of players earned something real. The tournament left a mark on Korean football that persists into 2026. But the asterisks never went away.
The 2002 World Cup did not settle anything. It opened arguments that are still running.