2002 FIFA World Cup final

2002 FIFA World Cup final
	The final was played at International Stadium Yokohama (pictured in 2008).
Event	2002 FIFA World Cup
Date	30 June 2002
Venue	International Stadium, Yokohama
Man of the Match	Ronaldo (Brazil)
Referee	Pierluigi Collina (Italy)
Attendance	69,029
Weather	Cloudy; 21 °C (70 °F), 88% humidity
	← 1998 2006 →

The 2002 FIFA World Cup final was the final match of the 2002 World Cup, the 17th edition of FIFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the International Stadium in Yokohama, Japan, on 30 June 2002, and was contested by Germany and Brazil. The tournament comprised hosts Japan and South Korea, holders France, and 29 other teams who emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Germany finished first in Group E, with two wins and a draw, after which they defeated Paraguay in the round of 16, the United States in the quarter-finals and South Korea in the semi-finals. Brazil finished top of Group C with three wins, before defeating Belgium in the round of 16, England in the quarter-final, and Turkey in the semi-final. The final took place in front of 69,029 supporters, with an estimated 1.1 billion watching on television, and was refereed by Pierluigi Collina from Italy.

After a goalless first half, Brazil took the lead through Ronaldo on 67 minutes, scoring after what German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn called his "only mistake in the finals". They extended their lead twelve minutes later when Kléberson ran towards the German penalty area before passing towards Rivaldo. He let the ball pass through his legs and it reached Ronaldo, who used his first touch to take the ball away from German player Gerald Asamoah, and then shot the ball into the bottom corner of Kahn's net. The final score was 2–0 to Brazil.

Brazil's win was their fifth World Cup title, which remains a record as of 2024^[update]. Ronaldo was named the man of the match, while Kahn was awarded the Golden Ball as FIFA's outstanding player of the tournament. Brazil's manager, Luiz Felipe Scolari, expressed "the joy of knowing we did our job", while noting that it was "full of very hard work". His German counterpart Rudi Völler said, "When you lose a game, the disappointment is great, of course. But it is no shame to lose against a team like Brazil." At the next World Cup in Germany in 2006, Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-final by France while Germany reached the semi-final stage on home soil and eventually finished third.