Argentina won the tournament for the first time after defeating the Netherlands 4–3 in the final on penalty strokes after a 1–1 draw.

China won the third place match by defeating defending champions Australia 2–0 to claim their first ever World Cup medal.

Each of the continental champions from five federations and the host nation received an automatic berth.

The European federation received one extra quota based upon the FIH World Rankings.

After the United States could not attend the Qualifying Tournament due to the disruption of airline schedules after the September 11 attacks, the FIH organized a series of test-matches between that team and India (Seventh placed team in Qualifying Tournament) to ensure they had a chance to participate at the World Cup.