A Look at the Semi-Final Matches - 2002-06-23

A Look at the Semi-Final Matches - 2002-06-23. The four remaining teams in the 2002 FIFA World Cup will hold their semi-final matches this week. On Tuesday, June 25, in Seoul, the South Korean national team will face Germany. The Koreans have unexpectedly advanced past strong teams like Italy and Spain to reach this stage, making them the first Asian team in World Cup history to reach this level of competition. In contrast, Germany has barely made it to the semi-finals, having won 1-0 against the USA in a match where, according to Franz Beckenbauer, they were lucky. Beckenbauer, a former captain and coach of Germany, stated in Berlin that the USA was undoubtedly the better team throughout the match. Speaking as a sports commentator for a German television network, he added that Germany must elevate their game in the next match. On Wednesday in Saitama, Japan, Brazil will take on Turkey. Turkey is another surprising team this year, marking its first World Cup appearance in the past 48 years. Turkey secured its place in the semi-finals by scoring a golden goal against Senegal on Saturday. This will be the second match between these two teams in this year's World Cup, with Brazil having controversially defeated Turkey 2-1 in the first round. Therefore, for the Turks, Wednesday's match will serve as a revenge match against the four-time world champions. Brazil's performance has improved with each game, and many experts believe Brazil will win the cup for the fifth time. Ronaldinho, who scored a spectacular goal against England on Friday, will be absent from this match due to a red card received during that game, which resulted in his suspension from the semi-final. The winners of these two matches will compete in the final on June 30 in Yokohama, Japan, while the losers will face each other the day before in Daegu, South Korea, for third place.