Co-hosts South Korea are beaten 3-2 by Turkey in the battle for third place.
Send your tributes to the co-hosts.
This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below.
Dear South Korean friends; thank you for all your hospitality and politeness. I will never forget this excellent match and the scenes after it. Turkey and S. Korea have given a lesson of humanity to the world.
The last month has been absolutely exhilarating - what a fine time to be living in Seoul. Congrats to the magnificent Brazilian champions! Also kudos to the Korean national team and Coach Hiddink for your Herculean heart and spirit! Thank you Guus for working your magic - please stay! Hats off to the legions of Red Devils - what can I say but absolutely inspiring!
It was a joy to live and breathe the electricity of the World Cup and see the world's soccer greats give it their all. Speaking for all Koreans I'm saddened to see it end. See you all again in 2006.
Yu Jin Hwang,Seoul, Korea
I really think a lot of the praise given to Korea is misplaced. It's not sour grapes because they eliminated Italy - I think that was mostly down to Trapattoni's extreme defensive tactics.
Korea stopped their football league so that they could train hard for six months without distraction and without risking injuries. Can you imagine if that happened to, say, England? Gerrard, Owen and Beckham would all have been fit and in top form. The same holds for all the other European teams, France being another good example.
All the Koreans did was run like crazy for the whole match - where is the beauty in that? Sorry I am not sending 'a tribute', as the editor requested, but I think in the next World Cup we'll see Korea's real worth.
Fritz, Italy / UK
Bravo South Korea! Simply impressed by the team's determination and "never say die" spirit.
It was a wonderful show of strength and willpower - even when the team were two goals behind to Turkey. Despite stories of common "refereeing errors" that brought Korea so far into the World Cup, we all had the honour of witnessing the rise of the best Asian football team to date.
I would like to salute the fantastic South Korea team! You've set a great example for the rest of Asian football. Kudos to underdogs Turkey as well. They have proven themselves and the meaning of true sportsmanship!
Well done S.Korea!! To me you are the true winners of this cup. Great Funs and excellent sportsmanship. I am sure that the whole world would be honoured to see South Korea in 2006. Great people, great hospitality.
Ayhan Dalgic, Turkey/UK
Thank you very very much Korea and all Koreans for your friendship and hospitality. 70 million Turkish people were proud of you as much as they proud of their team. What a great tournoment and what a fantastic sportmanship from Koreans. Best wishes in the future and thanks again for your hospitality.
What does matter here is what happened after the final whistle. Before even enjoying themselves, Turkish players run to South Korean team to comfort them, they hold their hands and saluted South Koreans supporters together, shoulder to shoulder.
Meanwhile South Korean supporters chanting for both teams with Turkish and South Koreans flags in their hands. Was I dreaming? Have I ever seen anything like this before? I just cried for my country and for the great nation of South Korea.
What an EXCITING GAME! Despite what others say about our team, we did BRILLIANTLY! Not only our players but the fans as well. The red devils were polite, clean and never forgot to cheer for the other team especially against Turkey.
Not only did the South Korean team have talent but they had spirit and a sprinkle of luck. Though many people were disappointed that Korea didn't win we were also glad and proud that we got this far. 2006 HERE WE COME!
As in all ventures and dreams, it's better to arrive late than not to arrive at all, and certainly both Korea and Turkey can take much from the venture, ok the dream might not be what booth wished for, many a great footballing nation would take third or forth place, so its hats off to both nations for showing what determination and a little bit of positive thinking can do.....
Zoe, Korean in US
Ken MacAlpin, HONG KONG
Friendship and teamwork are what soccer is about. I would wish that all clubs in the world would learn from this superbly managed event. Thanks for a job well done, the people of Korea.
Sevda Küpoğlu Aleckson, Turkey
Korea's exciting adventure came to an end today. Although they lost to Turkey, it was a clean and entertaining match. It was so great to see both sides cheering and supporting each other after the match. Everybody was a winner.
Well done South Korea, a fantastic achievement. The important thing now is to build on this success and hopefully raise the standard of Asian football. With a World Cup likely to be held in China in 2014, South Korea could be one of the major contenders if the great work of Guus Hiddink continues. The red devils are undoubtedly the best fans in the tournament!
Now that the refereeing is approaching satisfactory, Korea have lost their last two games. Nothing can take away the grief of the earlier officiating, but I do feel that some justice has been served.
Colin MacK, England
Hasan Saiyid, Canada
I'm in Korea now to enjoy the World Cup and I'm really moved by the Koreans' smiles and kindness. They are wonderful people. They have made me so happy and we cannot but applaud them. I would like to really thank them. Bravo, Korea!
While the Koreans did play their hearts out, and had an incredible run of luck, things will return to normal in 2006. Let's face it, if not for being co-hosts it is very unlikely the Koreans could have mustered enough skill and luck to both qualify and advance so far. No lack of heart, but they still have far to go in terms of true skill, staying power, and humility when it all comes together for them. Jim, Japan
Well done Korea, however Turkey were the team of the tournament and should have won it. What lovely scenes at the end of the match with both teams paying tribute to the fans together.
Many soccer experts fear that the Korean team will do poorly after Guus Hiddink leaves... they should hold onto him. Don't let the man leave! If he keep working at this rate, Korea's dream of winning a World Cup won't be a fairy tale in 2006!
South Korea showed magnificent team spirit and determination and deserve their position. Spain, Italy or England would have been World Champions if they had matched it - But they got nowhere near!
Phil Robson, UK
Well done Korea! We are proud of your accomplishments. We will always remember your great fighting spirit... the Red Devils will always back you! See See you in the final in Germany 2006.
Janie Yun, US/Korea
I live in Korea and have followed Korean football closely for ten years. They are playing exactly as they have always played and are a headache to other teams when they play on home soil. I don't know that Gus has done much except to get the senior players to sit down and have dinner with the younger ones. In Korea that's a momentous achievement. Otherwise they've been extremely lucky.
If all the matches were relatively fair, like this one, how far could the Korean team go in a world class competition? Without the help of the referee, we see a true Korean team. I will be fully convinced of their ability if they are able to achieve the same spectacular result in four years.
Today's loss was the result of slack play by two players, Hong Myung-Bo, who failed in defence in the first half, and Ahn Jung Hwan, who missed passes and failed to make goal opportunities count.They came back spectaculaly in the second half but the goal was too late.
Still, congratulations to both South Korea and Turkey for an excellent game of football, and for beating many of the super powers of football to make it this far. You should be proud of yourselves.
Great sportsmanship after the match and a nice reaction from the Korean supporters, who were the true winners in the end.
Kim, New Zealand
South Korea played very well in this World Cup. Forget the controversial decisions; they can happen in any tournament. I just hope South Korea keep improving.
Thank you for the excitement, thank you for the memories, and most of all thank you for bringing such pride in all of our hearts to be Korean. Well done, and I can't wait to see you in Germany in 2006.
It's true that Korea benefited from some very poor officiating against Italy and Spain - But that is nothing new in the World Cup. Officiating is just another variable that teams must learn to deal with. The Korean team never gave up, even when they were down against Italy with only a couple of minutes left. That's the real reason they advanced so far.
So I say congratulations to Korea. My only misgiving is that this World Cup seems to have fanned the flames of Korea's already serious problem with racism and nationalism. People need to stop talking about how superior their country and people are and just enjoy the World Cup for what it is... a game.
Even though Korea lost, they showed the rest of the world what true winning spirit they have. Even down 3-1 in the 89th minute, Korea never gave up. The show of sportsmanship at the end of the game by both sides was also a breath of fresh air amidst all the bitter complaining in this world cup. Good luck in 2006!
Everything in this World Cup was a tremendous experience for me. It's impossible to forget these feelings. My team has been impressive so far, and I appreciate them with my heart. Of course, our opponents, Poland, USA, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, and Turkey, were really great. I want to see them with us in 2006 WC.
We were all hoping that we win this game but even though we've lost, we are still proud of our team. Because we all know our boys have worked really hard for all these games. It's not just about winning but it's all about having fun out there! Am I right?
Korea possessed the ball throughout the game, but they made too many mistakes. They lost their die-hard spirit when they lost to Germany. But fortieth to fourth that's quite amazing and it was really nice to see both teams coming together as one.
I'm very proud of Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman who made a fine team that played sparkling and very attractive football. It was a joy to see them. But Turkey were better. I hope the final will be as good, but I doubt it.
Truusje van Tol,Holland
I can't believe how badly my team performed today. The game was a huge disappointment to the fans, not only in Korea, but all around the world. Hong Myung-Bo, especially, ruined the reputation he had built up until the final game. I hope they would recover soon and get back to playing like real professional players.
Nam Il Song, Korea
Korea showed the world the possibility of becoming a world class team. Let's prove that we are in 2006!
The game between Korea and Turkey was simply fantastic; I enjoyed every minute of it. Rather than comment on the details of the game, I would like to extend my respect and appreciation to the Korean people for the grace they have shown throughout the world cup. The sight of Korean fans with a Korean flag in one hand and a Turkish flag in the other even when their team was losing should set an example to football fans everywhere. My heartfelt thanks to all our Korean friends.
Omer Yagiz, Turkey
Congratulations to the Koreans for the most inspiring performance of the tournament and exemplary grace in defeat last Tuesday and today.
South Korea have been terrific hosts, they rode their luck at times but the thoroughly deserved to be in the top four in the competition. Lee Chon Soo and Ahn Hung Juan looked very good players indeed.
Though Korea failed to win the last game, this match showed the world what the World Cup should be; friendship. Turkish and Korean players running together shoulder to shoulder after the match deeply moved my heart.
YG Ghim, Korea
I would like to express my greetings to the astonishing Korean team for their performance through out the tournament. Also their wonderful and fantastic crowd who showed the whole world how to cheer in a civilized way to the other teams as well their own team. Thanks for all the fast entertaining football they stunned us with!
Dr.Mohamed El Laithy, Egypt
I must say Korean players were a little bit slack today. They didn't have as much motivation as before, although they fought well in second half. Hope Koreans can still keep what they have now after Hiddink is gone. Well done boys
Inhan, Korean, NZ
Well done South Korea, a fantastic achievement. The important thing now is to build on this success and hopefully raise the standard of Asian football. With a World Cup likely to be held in China in 2014 South Korea could be one of the major contenders if the great work of Guus Hiddink is carried on. The Red Devils are undoubtedly the best fans in the tournament!
Colin MacK, England
Both Korea and Turkey have played brilliantly today. I'm proud of the Korean team, and I'm proud of the Turkey team too. I thank Hiddink for coaching the Korean team and teaching them how to play real football. Well done Korea and Turkey, you guys have shown us spirited football. Hope to see you in Fifa World Cup 2006, where we will reach the semi-finals once again.
Sue,Korean in USA
Congratulations to both South Korea and Turkey for an excellent game of football, and for beating many of the favourites to make it this far. You should be proud of your selves.
Kim, New Zealand