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The 2002 FIFA Rimet Cup was the 8th edition of FIFA Rimet Cup, a quadrennial world championship for men's nationalfootball teams organized by FIFA, for the top teams in FIFA World Cup qualification that do not qualify for the FIFA World Cup. It took place in Russia from 7 May to 5 June 2002, after the country was awarded the hosting rights in 2001.
Qualification for the FIFA World Cup doubled as qualification to the FIFA Rimet Cup.
Direct bye to group stage
16 nations earned a berth directly into the group stage of the competition. Of the 16 teams, 5 were from UEFA, 3 from AFC, 3 from CAF, 2 from CONMEBOL, 2 from CONCACAF, and 1 from OFC, which was the host, Australia.
32 nations entered in the qualifying round, which is a two-legged home and away series that was played on 2 March and 10 March 2002. Of the 32 teams, 14 were from UEFA, 1 was from CONMEBOL, 3 from CONCACAF, 2 from OFC, 6 from AFC, and 6 from CAF.
The draw was held on 29 March 2002, at 18:00 CEST, at the Sydney. The 32 teams were drawn into eight groups of four.
For the draw, the teams were allocated to four pots based on the FIFA World Rankings of February 2002. Pot 1 contained the hosts Australia (who were automatically assigned to Position A1) and the best seven teams, Pot 2 contained the next best eight teams, and so on for Pots 3 and 4. This was different from previous draws, where only Pot 1 was based on FIFA Rankings while the remaining pots were based on geographical considerations. However, still retained was the fact that teams from the same confederation were not drawn against each other for the group stage, except for UEFA where each group contained up to two teams.
Yugoslavia
Colombia
Australia
Romania
