The World Cup saw its first major upset today when West African hopefuls Senegal beat title holders France by one goal. The tournament was officially opened in Seoul's Sangam Stadium earlier.
The French were left scratching their heads when their outside chance opponents held them off after a first-half goal.
The tournament kicked off after an elaborate $8 million ceremony this morning.
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Dancers in traditional dress
at today's opening ceremony |
South Korea's president, Kim Dae-jung, opened the month-long festival of football in the city's 64,000-seat main stadium.
"The Korean people and I have striven to make this World Cup a global festivity inspiring the six billion people of the world with peace, harmony and hope for the future," Kim said earlier in a pre-match message in English-language newspapers.
Underscoring the message, Kim attended the opening ceremony with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, leader of a country still deeply mistrusted by many Koreans for its harsh military occupation of the peninsula from 1910 to 1945.
Apart from being the first co-hosted World Cup, the finals are the first to be held outside Europe and the Americas. It is also the richest World Cup on record.
Television broadcasters have paid more than $800 million to show the tournament, 10 times what was paid for the 1998 event in France. Fees from sponsors eager to tap a huge audience - at least 500 million people were expected to watch the opening match - are likely to double the television revenue.
Thirty two nations will compete in 64 games for soccer's most coveted prize.
Security is at an all-time high for the tournament, in the wake of the September 11th attacks on the US. No fly zones have been put in place over the stadiums in Japan and South Korea and players are being protected by teams of security guards.
Meanwhile Irish fans in Japan and at home, still recovering from the shock departure of skipper Roy Keane last week, are preparing for their opening game against Cameroon early tomorrow morning.
Mick McCarthy's squad was due to arrive in the early hours of this morning in Niigata, venue for the game. He said yesterday he hoped to have a full panel of players from which to choose, although Jason McAteer will have to prove his fitness.
More than 6,000 Irish supporters are expected at the match, which starts at 7.30 a.m. Ireland take on Germany in Tokyo on Wednesday at the more respectable time of 12.30 p.m.
Pubs everywhere are getting ready to welcome supporters with sushi and fried sausages. In most cases, refreshments for Ireland v Cameroon early tomorrow morning will be of the non-alcoholic variety with thousands of Irish breakfasts being prepared.
Unfortunately, backing Ireland to win the World Cup is a bit of a long shot with Paddy Power's bookmakers quoting odds of 125-1.
Additional reporting Reuters
