Paraguay at the FIFA World Cup in France by qualifying in second place in South America, behind Argentina. The first round matches were against Bulgaria (0–0), Spain (0–0), and Nigeria (3–1; goals Celso Ayala, Miguel Ángel Benítez and José Cardozo). Paraguay qualified to the second round (Round of 16) to be defeated in a thrilling match against hosts and eventual World Champions France. France only scored through Laurent Blanc in the 114th minute, during the second half of overtime (making it the first golden goal scored in a World Cup). Paraguay's central defending duo (Carlos Gamarra and Celso Ayala) and goalkeeper José Luis Chilavert were selected
Asian nations at the FIFA World Cup played the ball into Hwang Sun-hong, who hit the ball first-time into the net. In the 53rd minute, South Korea scored their second goal: Yoo Sang-chul ran towards Tomasz Wałdoch and Radosław Kałużny, then confidently shot between them and past goalkeeper Dudek. Even the President of Korea waved his hat at the goal, which secured South Korea's first-ever win at the World Cup finals. In its second match, against the United States, the game's first real scoring chance fell to the U.S.' Clint Mathis, who scored with a left-footed drive from the middle of the penalty area. Later on, in