FIFA World Cup future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the first tournament with multiple hosts. South Africa became the first African nation to host the World Cup in 2010. The 2014 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since Argentina 1978, and was the first occasion where consecutive World Cups were held outside Europe. The host country is
2002 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF) 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" between Caribbean and Central teams. The remaining teams were divided