Germany Football Formation

Lineup (3-4-1-2)

Oliver Kahn (c) · Carsten Ramelow · Christoph Metzelder · Thomas Linke · Jens Jeremies · Dietmar Hamann · Marco Bode · Torsten Frings · Bernd Schneider · Oliver Neuville · Miroslav Klose

Germany "Runners-Up XI" (2002)

Led by a flawless Oliver Kahn, Germany didn't concede a single goal until they reached the final. In the final it was the contest between the German defense and Brazilian attack - to be precise between the best defense tradition and the best attack tradition.

Brazil and Germany had never met before in a World Cup match. This was a direct contest between the two most successful Football nations. However, to the disappointment of Germany, Brazil came up with their best side since 1982's Zico-Sócrates side, and this side was more complete than the 1982 side too. Ronaldo came back from his career-threatening injury to complete his quest for World Cup. He was ably supported by Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, Gilberto Silva, Roberto Carlos, Cafu, Lúcio and a host of brilliant players.

And thus, the inevitable happened. Brazil won the final by 2-0, and Germany lost after their gritty performance throughout the tournament. The only consolation was that, the Golden Ball award for tournament's best player went to Oliver Kahn, who was the biggest reason for Germany's road to the final.

Coach/Manager Rudi Völler acknowledged the brilliance of Brazil attack, and applauded his team for the way they help up against such a gifted Brazilian side. This was World's number 2 side that lost only to World's number 1 side.

Coach/Manager : Rudi Völler

Reserves include : Oliver Bierhoff, Gerald Asamoah and Christian Ziege.