2002 FIFA World Cup Final

Germany were drawn in Group E at the World Cup, along with Cameroon, the Republic of Ireland and Saudi Arabia.[15] In their opening match against Saudi Arabia at the Sapporo Dome in the Japanese city of Sapporo they won 8–0, their biggest win in a World Cup.[16] Miroslav Klose scored a hat-trick and was one of six players on the German team to score.[17] In their next game against the Republic of Ireland, Klose gave Germany a 1–0 lead which they held throughout much of the game. However, Ireland equalised through Robbie Keane in second-half stoppage time. This would prove to be the only goal conceded by Germany prior to the final.[5][18] Needing a win to finish first in their group, Germany entered their final match against Cameroon at Shizuoka Stadium in Fukuroi City, Japan, one point ahead of the Republic of Ireland in the group. Germany went on to beat Cameroon 2–0, with goals from Marco Bode and Klose – his fifth goal of the tournament – although Germany did suffer a setback when Carsten Ramelow was sent off.[19] Germany finished top of Group E with seven points (two wins and a draw), and advanced to the knockout round.[15]

In the round of 16, Germany faced Paraguay, the runner-up in Group B, at Jeju World Cup Stadium in the South Korean city of Seogwipo.[20] The first half ended goalless and it remained so until the 88th minute when Oliver Neuville scored, securing a 1–0 win for Germany.[21] In their quarter-final match, Germany faced the United States who had more shots on goal, but Germany won the game 1–0 with Michael Ballack scoring in the 38th minute.[22] In the semi-final, Germany faced co-hosts South Korea at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.[23] Like the game against Paraguay, there were no goals until late in the game, until Ballack scored the winner, hitting the rebound into the goal after goalkeeper Lee Woon-jae had saved his initial shot.[24] Four minutes before scoring, he had been shown a yellow card for a foul on Lee Chun-soo and was suspended for the final for receiving his second booking.[24][25]

Brazil were drawn into Group C, along with China, Costa Rica and Turkey.[15] Their first game was on 3 June against Turkey. In stoppage time at the end of the first half, Turkey's Hasan Şaş scored.[26] In the second half, Brazil's Ronaldo levelled the match at 1–1 in the 50th minute. Four minutes before the end of regular time, the referee awarded Brazil a penalty after Turkish defender Alpay Özalan fouled Brazilian striker Luizão, with Alpay also receiving a red card. Rivaldo scored from the penalty spot and the match finished 2–1 to Brazil.[26] During the game, Turkish defender Hakan Ünsal kicked a ball towards Rivaldo which struck his thigh, but Rivaldo fell to the ground clutching his face. The referee sent the Turkish player off with a second yellow card.[27] In their second game against China at the Ulsan Munsu Football Stadium in Ulsan, South Korea, Brazil won 4–0 with Roberto Carlos, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo all scoring.[28] In their final game against Costa Rica, Brazil completed a 5–2 win. Ronaldo scored two goals, with Edmílson, Rivaldo and Júnior scoring the others.[29] Brazil finished in first place in their group with nine points and eleven goals.[15]

In the round-of-16, Brazil faced Group H runners-up Belgium at the Kobe Wing Stadium in Kobe, Japan.[30] The game remained goalless until he 67th minute, when Rivaldo scored for Brazil. Ronaldo added a second goal in the 87th minute, to complete a 2–0 win for Brazil.[31] Brazil faced England in the quarter-finals, with their opponents taking the lead through a goal by Michael Owen in the 23rd minute.[32] The scores were levelled in first half stoppage time, when Rivaldo scored.[32] Following half-time, Ronaldinho scored for Brazil, putting them in the lead. Ronaldinho was sent off by referee Felipe Ramos Rizo seven minutes later, which meant he was suspended for the semi-final.[32] Although they played with ten men, the Brazilians were able to prevent an equaliser from England and advanced into the semi-finals.[15] There, Brazil faced Turkey for the second time, at the Saitama Stadium 2002 in Saitama, Japan. The game was goalless until the 49th minute, when Ronaldo scored what proved to be the only goal of the match, running in the penalty area and hitting it with his toe past goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber, as Brazil won 1–0.[33]

With the exception of the suspended Ballack, who was replaced by Jens Jeremies, The remainder of the team which started the semi-final against South Korea were available and selected for the final.[34][35][36] For Brazil, Ronaldinho returned to the team following his suspension in the semi-final. He replaced Edílson, whom BBC Sport described as having been a "poor replacement" for Ronaldinho and "almost anonymous throughout".[37] Brazil's team was otherwise unchanged from the team which beat Turkey.[35][38]

Brazil were considered the favourites to win the match by bookmakers, with odds of 2–5 compared with 7–4 for Germany. Previewing the match, BBC Sport said that "both teams [had] had problematic passages to the final" but noted the two teams' experience at this level, highlighting Brazil's record number of titles as well as Germany's status as the most successful European team. The report focused on Ronaldo, who it said was "nearing redemption" having been "a shadow of his usual self after he played just a few hours after suffering a fit" in the 1998 final. It also noted that the Germans could take solace in the performances of goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who had conceded only one goal up to that point in the tournament.[39]

Pierluigi Collina of Italy was selected to referee the final. He was described prior to the match by Stephen Wade of the Associated Press as being "regarded as game's finest referee", and as of 2021 he is regarded by many observers as the greatest of all time.[40][41] Describing his preparation for the game, Collina said that he was "very interested in the tactics" of the two teams, so that he would be "ready to read the game". He described his selection as "unbelievable", saying that "I try to keep my feet on the ground but it is very difficult".[40] The assistant referees for the game were Leif Lindberg of Sweden and England's Philip Sharp, while Hugh Dallas from Scotland was the fourth official.[35]

Brazil kicked off the game at 8pm local time (11am UTC), in front of an attendance of 69,029 with an estimated global television audience of 1.5 billion.[34][42][43][44] The weather at Haneda Airport, 17 kilometres (11 mi) from the stadium,[lower-alpha 1] was recorded as cloudy at the time of kick-off, with a temperature of 21 °C (70 °F) and 88% humidity.[47] Germany were described by The Guardian's Scott Murray as "well on top" in the first fifteen minutes, and they had an opportunity to score when Bernd Schneider ran with the ball past Gilberto Silva before crossing into the penalty area towards Klose, where it was cleared behind by Edmílson.[34][48] However, it was Brazil who had what Murray described as the "first real chance of the game" on 18 minutes.[34] Ronaldinho passed upfield to Ronaldo, who was one-on-one with Kahn. Ronaldo hit a shot with his left foot, but it went wide of the goal.[49] Schneider passed to Bode in the Brazilian penalty area on 29 minutes, but Bode was unable to control the ball. On 30 minutes Ronaldinho made another pass through to Ronaldo, who found himself with only Kahn to beat for a second time.[49] He was unable to put enough power on the shot under pressure from Thomas Linke, and Kahn saved.[34]

Shortly before half-time, Torsten Frings sent a cross into the Brazilian penalty area from the right towards Klose, but it evaded all players and was retrieved by Neuville on the opposite side of the pitch.[50] He passed the ball to Jeremies outside the penalty area, who attempted a curling shot from 25 yards (23 m), but it went high and wide of the goal.[34][51] Kléberson then had two chances to score, putting the first wide in the 42nd minute, and hitting the bar from long range two minutes later. Lúcio had an opportunity when he received the ball in the penalty area and turned with it at his feet, but his shot was blocked. Ronaldo then missed his third scoring chance, in stoppage time, when a Roberto Carlos pass reached him after evading all the German defenders. Kahn saved Ronaldo's shot with his outstretched foot.[34]

One minute into the second half, Jeremies had a chance to give Germany the lead when Neuville found him in an unmarked position from a corner kick, but his header was blocked by the foot of Edmílson. They had another opportunity in the 50th minute, when Neuville struck a free kick from long range towards the corner of the goal, but Brazilian goalkeeper Marcos tipped the shot onto the post.[34] Three minutes later, Roberto Carlos crossed into the penalty area where Gilberto Silva met the ball with a header, but Kahn was able to make the save. Ronaldo then hit a shot at the German goal which was blocked by Ramelow, before Klose passed to Frings at the other end and he hit his attempt over the crossbar. A shot two minutes later from Dietmar Hamann also went over the goal.[49] Then, in the 62nd minute, Schneider sent a ball into the Brazilian penalty area which Neuville was unable to reach.[34]

Brazil took the lead in the 67th minute with a sequence that started with Ronaldo winning the ball from Hamann in the German half of the pitch. He passed to Rivaldo, who struck a low shot towards goal. Kahn attempted to catch the shot, but he was unable to take it cleanly and it rebounded into play. Ronaldo, who had followed Rivaldo's shot, took advantage of Kahn being off balance, scoring the rebound into the bottom corner before Kahn could recover. The Brazilians scored their second goal twelve minutes later, after a run from Kléberson from just beyond the halfway line led to Brazil having four attackers against Germany's three defenders. Kléberson passed towards Rivaldo, who was in the centre of the pitch just outside the German penalty area. Rivaldo let the ball go through his legs, and the pace on Kléberson's pass found Ronaldo. German forward Gerald Asamoah attempted to block the shot, but Ronaldo used his first touch to take the ball away from him, and struck the ball into the bottom corner of Kahn's net with his second.[34] Germany had another chance in the 83rd minute when Oliver Bierhoff, who had come on as a substitute, hit a first-time shot towards goal from the penalty spot, but Marcos was able to save the shot. Christian Ziege had a final shot for Germany in the third minute of stoppage time, but it was saved by Marcos and the game finished 2–0 to Brazil.[34]