{"id":605360,"date":"2021-12-19T13:56:54","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T18:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=605360"},"modified":"2021-12-19T13:56:54","modified_gmt":"2021-12-19T18:56:54","slug":"how-the-2002-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2021\/12\/19\/how-the-2002-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"How the 2002 World Cup Could Have Been Different"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2002 FIFA World Cup is peculiar, considering it was the first of its kind. It was the first World Cup to take place in Asia and the first hosted by two countries, South Korea and Japan<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

This World Cup also saw a different format used when it came to determining the round of 16 bracket. Usually, the Group A winner would face the Group B runner-up, and a similar format would follow throughout. However, at this tournament it was different. This means the knockout stage pairings would have been different if the standard format had been used, which could\u2019ve possibly affected the outcome of the tournament. That\u2019s what we are here to find out.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

How Different Knockout Stage Pairings Affected the 2002 FIFA World Cup<\/h2>\n

Predicting the ‘New’ Fixtures<\/h3>\n

The round of 16 pairings looked like this<\/a> in our timeline, with Brazil ultimately beating Germany in the final. If the standard pairing format was used, it would’ve looked like this<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let’s examine how this difference could’ve potentially affected the tournament’s outcome. These ‘new’ fixtures will be predicted on a basis of probability. Meaning if a team is deemed more likely to beat another, if only by a 0.1 percent margin, they will be the victors. This probability will be determined by a combination of a team’s group stage performance and the general quality of the squad.<\/p>\n

England to Beat Germany, Two Scandinavian Quarter-Finalists<\/h3>\n

Using this logic, Denmark, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and Italy would probably advance to the quarter-finals. Turkey beat South Korea in 2002, so they are the winners in their tie by default. Italy were below-par in the group stage, but they have a historical tendency to get their act together for the knockout phase and are labelled winners against hosts Japan on those grounds. Despite Mexico’s fifth game curse, their group stage display was so solid that they have to be regarded as marginal favourites against Belgium.<\/p>\n

The two remaining fixtures are toss-ups: Germany against England and Sweden against Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n

Germany obtained two more points than England, but that can be attributed to Die Mannschaft’s<\/em> group being easier. We have to look elsewhere to distinguish the two – like their most recent battle, that The Three Lions<\/em> won 5-1 in Munich<\/a> less than a year prior. A German win is of course possible, but England should still be regarded as marginal favourites.\u00a0Sweden won the “group of death” and should thus be considered slight favorites against the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n

Brazil Still Champions, Spain’s First World Cup Final<\/h3>\n

This would set up the following quarter-final ties:<\/p>\n