2002 FIFA World Cup qualification failed to qualify for the 2006 finals: Belgium, Cameroon, China, Denmark, Ireland, Nigeria, Russia, Senegal, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkey, Uruguay." The 32 spots available in the 2002 World Cup would be distributed among the continental zones as follows: A total of 193 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 777 qualifying matches were played, and 2452 goals were scored (an average of 3.17 per match). The Asian Football Confederation was allocated four and half qualifying berths for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, South Korea and Japan, the co-hosts, qualified automatically, leaving two and half spots open for
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF) following three teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament. 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF) The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification, ran from 2000 to 2001 in order to determine the three representatives at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. For an overview of the qualification rounds, see 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification. A total of 35 CONCACAF teams entered the competition. Guyana withdrew before playing and leaves 34 nations in the race. Mexico, USA, Jamaica and Costa Rica, the four highest-ranked teams according to FIFA, received byes and advanced to the semi-finals, while Canada advanced directly to the "play-offs"