The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th edition of the FIFA World Cup, an international association football competition that serves as the championship for men's national teams.
It was held in Japan and South Korea from 31 May to 30 June and was contested by 32 teams.
[1] Each national association was required to name a provisional squad of 23 players, expanded from 22 in previous tournaments,[citation needed] by 21 May 2002.
[2] The players' ages, caps and clubs are listed as of 31 May 2002, the opening day of the tournament.
The oldest player was defender Jan Heintze of Denmark at 38 years, 293 days old; the youngest was Femi Opabunmi, a 17-year-old midfielder for Nigeria.
Head coaches: Lars Lagerbäck and Tommy Söderberg
Note: caps include those for USSR, CIS, and Russia, while those for other countries, such as Ukraine, are not counted.
The Cameroonian squad were made up entirely of players employed by overseas clubs, while the Irish squad was made up entirely by players in the English league.
Although the Netherlands and Greece failed to qualify for the finals, their domestic leagues were represented by 18 and 10 players respectively.