Germany at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Germany at the 2002 FIFA World Cup This article concerns the German national football team at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan. Germany had to play against England, Finland, Albania and Greece, managed by fellow German Otto Rehhagel. It was not to be an easy group, so much so as only the first placed team could qualify automatically. The start was promising with four wins in a row, including a 1-0 win against England at Wembley. Since England could only manage a draw away at Finland, automatic qualification should have been a foregone conclusion. In the
2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage match when he attempted to confront the referee, was particularly vocal in his criticism of the officials' decisions, stating afterwards: "What happened here was robbery. Everyone saw two perfectly good goals. If Spain didn't win, it's because they didn't want us to win. I feel terrible about this game." 2002 FIFA World Cup knockout stage At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the knockout stage was the second and final stage of the tournament, following the group stage. The top two teams from each group (16 total) advance to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A third