WFI‘s Adam Brandon counts down to Russia 2018 with 90 World Cup goals in 90 days, scored in the minute corresponding to the day in the countdown.
Context
The hosts South Korea stunned the world by reaching the semi-finals of the 2002 World Cup, but they were not the only surprise of the tournament.
Senegal had beaten France and the USA had stunned Portugal on their way to the quarter finals, whilst Argentina went out in the group stages. And then there was Turkey. The Turks had made their way to semi-final by coming through a favourable group featuring Brazil, Costa Rica, and China.
They then managed to beat the co-hosts Japan before stopping the charge of Senegal via a Golden Goal in the quarters.
Their run came to an end in the semi-final where they faced Brazil again, which set up a play-off for third place against the other co-hosts – South Korea. They got off to an incredible start when Hakan Şükür opened the scoring after just 11 seconds, but the hosts hit back and were level on the ninth minute.
The Goal
However it wasn’t too long before it was 2-1…
What Happened Next?
İlhan Mansız scored again to make it 3-1 to Turkey and they claimed third place with a 3-2 win.
Turkey haven’t qualified for a World Cup since whilst South Korea have qualified for all three.
Mansiz finished his career in 2006 and then decided to take up a different sport entirely at the age of thirty-three. He discovered he had a talent for figure skating. He attempted to qualify for a pairs event in the 2014 Winter Olympics, but sadly fell short.
Extras
Mansiz also performed one of the great tricks in World Cup match history…
