select a team ---------- Europe: Belgium Croatia Denmark England France Germany Ireland Italy Poland Portugal Russia Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey ---------- South America: Argentina Brazil Ecuador Paraguay Uruguay ---------- Africa: Cameroon Nigeria Senegal South Africa Tunisia ---------- Asia: China Japan Saudi Arabia South Korea ---------- CONCACAF: Costa Rica Mexico United States     Main page    Schedule    Stadiums

Champions start World Cup defence

French supporters wave before the opening ceremony

SEOUL, South Korea (CNN) -- Football's greatest prize and Asia's first World Cup has kicked off in South Korea with Senegal scoring a surprise victory over defending champions France in front of a sell-out crowd in Seoul. (Full-time report)

The atmosphere inside the 65,000-capacity state-of-the-art stadium reached fever pitch as referee Ali Bujsaim blew the whistle to end weeks of anticipation and begin the 31-day quest to find the best footballing nation on earth.

Across the globe, more than 500 million people are expected to tune in to the match, the first of 64 games to be co-hosted in Japan and South Korea.

It is the first time the event has been staged outside Europe or the Americas and will involve teams from 32 nations, culminating in a June 30 final at Japan's Yokohama stadium.

Inside the ground, France supporters vastly outnumbered Senegal fans in voice and number, adding huge dabs of royal blue to the picturesque palate of the stadium.

MORE STORIES • Senegal eyes French giant killing  • Blatter rival to quit  • Troubled times at FIFA    STADIUM GUIDE Facts, figures, history and weather    E-MAIL CNN Who would you hate to see win the title?    CNN NewsPass VIDEO World Cup is healing past animosities between S. Korea and Japan. CNN's Tim Lister Play video Japan's female sports fans mad about Italian World Cup team. CNN's Elina Fuhrman reports Play video   EXTRA INFORMATION IN-DEPTH: World Cup 2002

Massive French flags were unfurled and a chorus of thousands reverberated around the stadium. Their mood swept throughout the stands, even managing to infect the normally reserved Koreans who made up the bulk of the spectators.

They had reason to be vocal. Along with Argentina and Italy, the 1998 World Cup winners and European champions are heavily backed to win the tournament.

In comparison, Senegal are minnows of the football world, but are quietly confident to continue their impressive form which saw them unlucky losers in the final of the African Nations Cup earlier this year.

Their hopes of an upset in the opening match were given a boost by the absence of the world's most expensive footballer, midfield maestro Zinedine Zidane, who was been ruled out of playing by a thigh injury.

Peace, harmony

Watching the David and Goliath battle were a list of dignitaries that included South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi as well as the leader of the world's newest nation, East Timor's Xanana Gusmao.

Joining them were Prince Takamado and Princess Hisako -- the first members of Japan's royal family to officially visit South Korea since the end of an often-brutal Japanese 35-year occupation in 1945.

The imperial visit is seen as a sign of warming ties between the two nations and a successful co-hosting of the Cup is hoped to bring the East Asian neighbors closer together.

The theme of harmony and peace has been paramount in the staging plans of the tournament and on display in the 30-minute opening ceremony that preceded the match.

"The 2002 World Cup, the first one to be held in Asia and the first one in the new century, will be a milestone of world peace and harmony, transcending boundaries and nations," FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in his address to the crowd.

Opening ceremony

His comments were followed by the $8 million "From the East" ceremony, involving 2,300 performers who used folk and modern costumes in a celebration of Korean culture and cutting edge technology.

Involved was the hearty beat of 32 giant triangular drums and "Space age" dancers that descended onto the crowd drawing shrieks of delight from the fans.

Shards of light projected out of the stadium into the night sky creating the spectacular effect of a glistening city above the playing arena.

It was designed to project the themes of communication, harmony and understanding and enhance South Korea's international image.

The tournament got under way amid tight security, with authorities saying that more than 400,000 police and military personnel will be guarding the event in South Korea alone.

As well as a heavy presence on the streets, patrol boats, airforce jets, helicopters, surface-to-air defenses and advanced radar systems are patrolling the sky and waterways.

After the events of September 11, organizers vowed to take all measures possible to ensure World Cup safe from the threat of terrorism or the thuggery of hooligans.

But the heavy security presence was discreet and failed to detract from the carnival atmosphere both inside and outside the stadium on Friday.