2002 FIFA World Cup final

See also: 2002 FIFA World Cup

2002 FIFA World Cup Final

File:FIFA World Cup Trophy 2002 0103 - CROPPED-.jpg The 2002 World Cup trophy on display in Japan.
Event	2002 FIFA World Cup
Germany Brazil 0 2
Date	30 June 2002
Venue	International Stadium, Yokohama
Referee	Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
Attendance	69,029

The 2002 FIFA World Cup Final the final match of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, played between Germany and Brazil at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan. Brazil won the match 2–0, winning a record fifth title. Ronaldo, who became the record World Cup goalscorer at the 2006 tournament, scored two of his fifteen World Cup goals in the second half of the match, leading Brazil to the title and winning the Golden Boot award. This match also marked Brazilian captain Cafu's third appearance in a World Cup Final, a feat that has yet to be accomplished by any other player in the history of the tournament. Both teams had won their respective groups before advancing to the knockout stage, where both teams shut out all of their opponents en route to the final. Germany advanced past the suprisingly-advanced United States and co-host South Korea, while Brazil knocked out perennial favorite England.

The title marked Brazil's fifth World Cup championship, which is more than any other nation has achieved, also being the first team to win all seven of their games without any extra time or penalty kicks. Germany lost the World Cup Final for its fourth time, another tournament record. They were attempting to tie Brazil for most championships with a win, as the team had already won three.

Background

Germany

Further information: 2002 FIFA World Cup Group E

Prior to the tournament, the Germans were plagued by a series of injuries to key players. Sebastian Deisler, a star player, would not be able to play in the tournament due to a knee injury suffered in a friendly match against Austria only two days before the team left for Japan. The team's medical staff was at first confident that Dieslar would be able to play, but later pulled him out due to fears of his safety. "At first we had a glimmer of hope, but now the most important thing to think about is the health of Sebastian rather than the World Cup," said team manager Rudi Voeller. In addition, defenders Mehmet Scholl, Christian Woerns, and Jens Nowotny all missed the tournament due to injury.

Germany began in the group stage in Group E, placed among Ireland and the low-ranking Saudi Arabian and Cameroonian teams. In their opening match at the Sapporo Dome against Saudi Arabia they showed dominance, defeating them 8-0. Centre forward Miroslav Klose scored a hat trick, one of six different players on the German team to score a goal. In their next game against Ireland, the Germans held a 1-0 lead throughout much of the game. However, with only a few seconds left in stoppage time, Irish player Niall Quinn, a substitute, scored the equalizer goal against German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn. The goal held and the match ended in a 1-1 draw, awarding Germany only one point in the standings. Needing a win to finish first in their group, Germany entered their final match against Cameroon one point ahead of the Irish in the group. However, Germany easily beat Cameroon in a 2-0 game at Shizuoka Stadium, with Klose scoring his fifth goal of the tournament. Germany finished first place in Group E with seven points (two wins and a draw), and advanced into the first stage of the knockout round.

In the first stage of the knockout round, Germany faced Paraguay, the runner-up in group B, at Jeju World Cup Stadium. The game remained a very defensive one, as there were no goals scored in the first half and well into the second half. In the 88th minute, first-time german starting forward Oliver Neuville scored, winning the game for Germany. The win marked only the second time in 50 years that Germany advanced to the round of eight. In the round of eight, Germany faced a United States team that had surprisingly made it far into the tournament. Although they were significantly outshot 11 to 6, the Germans were still able to pull away with a 1-0 win. The single goal scored in the match came from star midfielder Michael Ballack in the 38th minute.

In the semi-final, Germany faced the co-host nation South Korea at the Seoul World Cup Stadium. Like the game against Paraguay, it was a defensive struggle throughout the first half and into the second half. However, before any goals were scored, a key moment in the tournament occurred. In the 71st minute, Ballack picked up his second yellow card of the knockout round, therefore disqualifying him from the next game. However, just four minutes later into the game, Ballack came through for Germany and scored, which turned out to be the only goal of the game. With the 1-0 win, the Germans moved into the final to face Brazil.

Brazil

Further information: 2002 FIFA World Cup Group C

Brazil drew into Group C, along with China, Costa Rica, and Turkey. In the previous World Cup in 1998, Brazil made it to the finals but then lost 3-0 to the host nation France. In an interview, Brazilian midfielder Juninho Paulista stated that both the team and the people in Brazil were both somewhat pessimistic about the upcoming World Cup squad due to the loss to France. Following the 1998 loss, the team hired a new head coach, Luis Felipe. Felipe preferred a more different style of football than previous coaches, which he called "bullyboy soccer". In this style of play emphasis is placed on aggressive play and hard tackling, which was in contrast to the more finesse play of previous Brazilian teams.

On June 3, Brazil played its first match of the group stage against eventual group runner-up Turkey. In stoppage time at the end of the first half, Turkey's Hasan Şaş scored, leaving Brazil down 1-0 at half time. In the second half, Brazil's Ronaldo responded quickly by equalizing the score at 1-1 in minute 50. The score remained tied same until well late into the game. In the 86th minute, Turkish defender Alpay Özalan brought down Brazilian striker Rivaldo in the penalty box, prompting a red card for Özalan and a penalty kick that Rivaldo converted. The match score finished at 2-1, Brazil victorious. In their second game against China at Munsu Football Stadium, the Brazilians fared much more easily. Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and Ronaldo all scored for Brazil, the first three goals being in the first half. With this win, Brazil also knocked the Chinese team out of the World Cup with their second loss. In their final game against Costa Rica, Brazil was very strong offensively. In a 5-2 win, Ronaldo scored two goals, one of four Brazilian players to score in the match. Brazil finished in first place in their group with nine points and scoring eleven goals, advancing to the round of 16 with ease.

Match details

30 June 2002

20:00

Germany	0 – 2	Brazil
	(Report)	Ronaldo 67', 79'

International Stadium, Yokohama

Attendance: 69,029

Referee: Pierluigi Collina (Italy)

Germany

Brazil

GERMANY: GK 1 Oliver Kahn (c) CB 2 Thomas Linke CB 5 Carsten Ramelow CB 21 Christoph Metzelder RM 22 Torsten Frings CM 8 Dietmar Hamann CM 16 Jens Jeremies  77' LM 17 Marco Bode  84' AM 19 Bernd Schneider CF 11 Miroslav Klose  9'  74' CF 7 Oliver Neuville Substitutes: FW 20 Oliver Bierhoff  74' FW 14 Gerald Asamoah  77' MF 6 Christian Ziege  84' Manager: Rudi Völler

BRAZIL: GK 1 Marcos CB 3 Lúcio CB 5 Edmílson CB 4 Roque Júnior  6' RM 2 Cafu (c) CM 8 Gilberto Silva CM 15 Kléberson LM 6 Roberto Carlos AM 11 Ronaldinho  85' CF 10 Rivaldo CF 9 Ronaldo  90' Substitutes: MF 19 Juninho Paulista  85' MF 17 Denílson  90' Manager: Luiz Felipe Scolari

OFFICIALS Assistant referees: Leif Lundberg (Sweden) Philip Sharp (England) Fourth official: Hugh Dallas (Scotland)

MATCH RULES 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level: 3 (of 12) substitutions permitted