The Final Tally

Rivaldo prepares to fire the best shot of the tournament in Brazil's second-round win over Belgium
JIM BOURG/REUTERS
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BEST GOAL Rivaldo's opener in the second-round encounter with Belgium was a stunning example of perfect footwork. The Brazilian No. 10 positioned himself at the edge of the 18-yard box for a looping cross from Ronaldinho on the right. His back to goal, Rivaldo received the ball on his chest, let it drop, trapped it with his right foot, swiveled like Baryshnikov and smacked it with his left, past a diving goalkeeper. It was a feat of pure Brazilian magic. Honorable Mention: Senegalese Papa Bouba Diop's scrambling game-winner against France in the opening match.

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WORST GOAL Just when everything seemed to be going right for the U.S.—up 3-1 against world power Portugal and steaming toward the second round—notoriously leaky defender Jeff Agoos managed to knee the ball right past goalkeeper Brad Friedel into his own net. The U.S. held on, but somehow this reminder of American football—er, soccer—tarnished what could have been a breakthrough tournament.

2002 FIFA World Cup
Special Coverage from TIME

Brazil Carves Up Turkey
Weblog: Germany vs. Brazil equals a clash of football cultures
Meet TIME's World Cup squad


--> The Ultimate Samba
Brazil beats Germany 2-0 to cap a World Cup 2002 filled with upsets, controversy and human drama

The Final Tally
Assessing the good, the bad and the ugly of the Cup that was

The Morning After
South Korea and Japan must now ponder if the World Cup was worth footing the bill

Moving on Up
TIME analyzes some of those players who excelled and looks at how they increased their market value

Why Some Teams Just Can't Win
Although the pre-Cup form book predicted otherwise, Brazil and Germany — the usual suspects — turned up in the final

more stories >>

BEST SAVE Showing why he's rated as the world's best shot-stopper, German Oliver Kahn flung himself to the right to palm away an attempt by Korea's Lee Chun Soo in their tense semifinal match. Honorable Mention: Spaniard Iker Casillas's intercepts of the efforts by Ireland's David Connolly and Kevin Kilbane in the penalty shoot-out.

WORST MUFF In a goalmouth melee following an English corner, Denmark's Thomas Sorensen stopped Rio Ferdinand's shot with his chest, but then his flailing arms pushed the ball into his own net.

BEST COACH Korea's Guus Hiddink has done more to put Asian soccer on the map than any number of Nakatas or Ahn Jung Hwans. His simple rule—if you're good and fit, you play—was revolutionary in a country where seniority squelches the talented. Honorable Mentions: Senegal's Bruno Metsu, Japan's Philippe Troussier and Turkey's Senol Gunes.

WORST COACH Italy's ultra-defensive Giovanni Trapattoni underestimated three opponents in a row—Croatia, Mexico and South Korea. Dishonorable Mention: Trap, again, winning the Sore Loser prize for cooking up a conspiracy theory to explain Italy's second-round exit.

BEST HAIR Carlos Valderrama set the bar too high in Italia '90 and USA '94—nobody even came close to the Colombian's golden dreadlocks. Amid a riot of bad hairstyles at this Cup, the most distinguished look was bald. Take your pick from Sweden's Henrik Larsson, Brazil's Roberto Carlos and England's Ferdinand.

WORST HAIR Germany's Christian Ziege arrived at the Cup with a tricolor mohawk, setting off a trend picked up by Turkey's Umit Davala and the U.S.'s Clint Mathis. Ziege had the good sense to shave it off after a couple of games—the others didn't. Dishonorable Mention: Brazilian Ronaldo's new tufted frontal-lobe look, as gauche as his silver boots.

BEST DIVE England's Michael Owen artfully fell over Argentine Mauricio Pochettino's legs, buying the decisive penalty in one of the tournament's most anticipated clashes.

WORST DIVE Italy's Francesco Totti's extra-time tumble in the South Korean penalty area earned him a yellow card—his second of the game—and expulsion. Dishonorable Mention: Rivaldo's shameful theatrics in Brazil's first game against Turkey.

BEST REF Amid the controversies of disallowed goals and phantom fouls, fans have overlooked some fine officiating. Despite being defamed by losing coaches, the World Cup referees did manage to crack down on shameless diving, giving defenders the benefit of the doubt in 50-50 situations and ignoring minor infringements to keep the games flowing. Pierluigi Collina, in particular, won praise and a place in the final for controlling games that could have become ugly grudge-fests (i.e. Argentina vs. England).

WORST REF Spain's Antonio Lopez Nieto lost all control of the Germany-Cameroon game, issuing yellow cards to 14 players and expelling two.

QUOTES OF THE DAY

Open quoteTell the governor he just lost my vote.Close quote

  • CHRISTOPHER EMMETT,
  • right before his death by lethal injection. Emmett argued that Virginia's execution methods were unconstitutional and Gov. Tim Kaine declined to intervene