2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA) Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for UEFA teams. The European section of the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification acted as qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, which is being held in South Korea and Japan, for national teams which are members of the UEFA. Apart from France, who qualified automatically as defending champions, a total of 13.5 slots in the final tournament were available for UEFA teams. The 50 teams were divided into nine groups, five groups of six teams and four groups
FIFA World Cup hosts country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Congress. This is done under an exhaustive ballot system. The decision is currently made roughly seven years in advance of the tournament, though the hosts for the 2022 tournament were chosen at the same time as those for the 2018 tournament. Only Mexico, Italy, France, Germany (West Germany until shortly after the 1990 World Cup) and Brazil have hosted the event on two occasions. Mexico City's Estadio Azteca and Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã are the only venues ever to have hosted two FIFA World Cup finals. Only the 2002 FIFA World