World Cup Group D

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BBC Sport Online looks at the countries drawn in Group D at the 2002 World Cup finals.

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SOUTH KOREA
Coach: Gus Hiddink
South Korea will receive massive backing as the co-host nation - and have a good World Cup pedigree as they prepare for their fifth successive tournament.

They are a skilful side, but may lack the physical presence to make a serious impact on the tournament.

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POLAND
Coach: Jerzy Engel
One of the first European nations to qualify for the finals, Poland are trying to recreate the glory days of Boniek, Lato and Deyna.

Their hopes of doing that rest heavily on the shoulders of Emmanuel Olisadebe.

Nigerian-born Olisadebe took out Polish citizenship and fired his adopted nation to the finals with seven goals in their qualifying campaign, in which they lost just once.

The Poles will be rugged and tough to beat, with Tomasz Waldoch and Tomasz Hajto forming a solid central defensive pairing for their country as they do for their German club Schalke 04.

Could make the second phase but are still some way short of the great Poland side.

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UNITED STATES
Coach: Bruce Arena
Came through the maze of the CONCACAF qualifying competition to reach their fourth successive finals.

The establishment of a professional soccer league in the States, plus experience gained by top players playing abroad, will help their cause.

The USA will be well-organised, with a superb team spirit but they lack the fire-power to seriously trouble the big guns.

They will be happy with a performance that will help the game establish its foothold in the States.

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PORTUGAL
Coach: Antonio Oliveira
Portugal qualified for the World Cup without losing a game in their qualifying group which included the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands.

The Portuguese are currently one of Europe's leading nations and boast the likes of Real Madrid's Luis Figo and Fiorentina's Nuno Gomes.

Figo inspired Portugal to a place in the Euro 2000 semi-finals, which they lost to France courtesy of Zinedine Zidane's golden goal penalty.

They will be hoping to repeat their exploits on the world's biggest stage and have a good chance of progressing to the later stages of the competition.