Rivaldo's worst act of diving. (Allsport)

By Alistair Grant, PA Sport

Well, that's it until Germany 2006. No more beers for breakfast across England and Ireland, no more wild celebrations in the centre of Seoul - and thankfully, no more silly footballers' haircuts.

But when all the fuss dies down and the last replay of THAT lob over David Seaman, THAT Ahn Jung Hwan golden goal and THAT daft Ronaldo trim has vanished, what will be the defining moments of World Cup 2002?

Here, PA Sport assess the brilliant, the bad and the bizarre of the month-long football extravaganza in Japan and South Korea.

THE BRILLIANT

David Beckham's penalty against Argentina. Just one kick, just 12 yards from goal - but his sweet strike banished his demons of France 98 and sent England into ecstasy. Becks scored the winner, England had a foot in the second round and Argentina were poised to hop on the plane back home. The headlines after the match said it all - 'REVENGE.'

South Korea. Eyebrows were raised across the globe when FIFA appointed the perennial World Cup whipping boys as the 2002 co-hosts. But the critics were soon gobbling their words as Gus Hiddink's plucky minnows steamed into the semis. The most exhilarating moment in their campaign came against Italy in the second round. Perugia's Ahn Jung Hwan bagged a 117th-minute golden goal to send the Italians packing.

Senegal. The African wild cards pushed Korea close in the battle to steal the hearts of fans worldwide. Led by flame-haired boss Bruno Metsu, the 150-1 outsiders amazingly beat France 1-0 in the opening game and dumped Sweden 2-1 at the start of the knockout stage, before valiantly losing to Turkey in the quarter-finals. Expect the Senegalese influx into English football to gather pace.

Rio Ferdinand. The England centre-back with a Rolls-Royce engine purrs around the penalty area, halting opposition raids while barely breaking sweat. The Leeds man was one of the stars of the tournament - and his Elland Road boss David O'Leary was sacked for reportedly refusing to sanction his sale to Manchester United.

Goals All World Cups have great goals - but some of the wonder strikes in this tournament were absolute crackers. England fans will find it hard to admit, but Ronaldinho's run and Rivaldo's precise finish in Brazil's 2-1 quarter-final win combined for one of the goals of the competition. But for sheer jaw-dropping volleys, look no further than Uruguay. The South Americans departed at the end of the group stage - but only after stunning strikes by Dario Rodriguez and Diego Forlan.

THE BAD

Rivaldo's diving. A magnificent player he may be, but World Cup 2002 marked Rivaldo's transformation from that inspirational attacker to someone who tries to trick referees. Opposition defenders needed merely to brush against the Brazilian strike ace to send him sprawling to the turf, clutching assorted parts of his anatomy. The worst example came against Turkey in the group stages - when Hakan Unsal kicked the ball against Rivaldo's right thigh. He shamefully went down holding his face and got Unsal sent off for a second bookable offence.

Tickets. Why can't they ever get the ticket distribution system sorted out? Thousands of empty seats were frequently visible at grounds - even at the most high-profile matches. The response from the authorities? FIFA, the ticket distributors and the Japanese and Korean organising committees all reacted in the same way - by blaming each other. The ticketing shambles forced fans to fork out hundreds of pounds on the black market to see their country play.

Rafael Marquez's tackle. Some crunching challenges look worse first time round than in action replays. But not Marquez's diabolical assault on Cobi Jones. The USA were beating Mexico 2-0 in the second round when the dreadlocked Jones came on as a substitute. Marquez chose his moment as the diminutive American midfielder collected a pass in midfield - and managed to both kick Jones in the back and head butt him above the ear. He was sent off.

Refereeing. It started well enough, with commentators and pundits praising sensible officiating and the absence of the spate of the red cards which traditionally marks the start of a World Cup. But the standard of whistle blowing went rapidly downhill as refs made all manner of mistakes. South Korea were the main beneficiaries, advancing past both Italy and Spain with considerable assistance from officiating howlers.

England in the second half. Sven-Goran Eriksson's penchant to play virtually two different XIs in every warm-up match cannot have helped, but that is a poor excuse to explain why the national team's performances died after half-time. Against Sweden, England became a team of long-ball merchants, while against Nigeria, Sven's men created nothing of note - despite the appetising carrot of a place at the top of Group F in front of them. Against 10-man Brazil, England again posed a negligible threat.

THE BIZARRE

The shocks. They just never stopped coming, did they? As if South Korea's astonishing advance to the last four was not stunning enough, France, Argentina, Portugal and Croatia were all on the plane home after the group stages. The French were goalless along with Saudi Arabia and China; Argentina were en route to the departure lounge after failing to beat Sweden; Portugal were beaten by Korea and the USA; Croatia lost to Ecuador and also went home.

Germany playing minnows. Rudi Voller's men lost 2-0 to Brazil in the final - but Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho were the first world-class opponents the Germans came up against. Miroslav Klose helped himself to a barrowload of goals as Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Ireland, Paraguay, the USA and Korea provided Germany's cakewalk to Yokohama. Unsurprisingly, they came unstuck in their first big test as Ronaldo bagged a brace.

David Seaman's blooper. Old 'Safe Hands' looked in imperious form as England stormed into the quarter-finals. But he hurt his back and was beaten by Rivaldo's masterful finish before the break against Brazil - and then the villain as England lost 2-1. Paul Scholes gave away an unnecessary free-kick 35 yards from goal on England's right side. Ronaldinho floated over a diagonal cross - and the ball just looped straight over Seaman and into the top corner for a freak goal.

The kick-off times. Phew - some of those 7.30am starts were a struggle, weren't they? Around 25,000 pubs across the UK and Ireland threw open their doors at the crack of dawn to welcome bleary-eyed punters preparing to swop orange juice for beer with their breakfast. Millions of pints flowed down thirsty throats as fans defied the eight hour time difference to get into the spirit of the competition.

The haircuts. David Beckham's latest style may be regarded as reasonably stylish by fashion aficionados, but many of the copycat trims were simply abysmal. Christian Ziege thankfully saw sense and shaved his four inch central strip of hair for the final - but not before Ronaldo switched to a crazy moon-shaped cut above his forehead. And of the long-haired brigade, Senegal coach Bruno Metsu outshone even the Argentinians with his Michael Bolton-style locks.