Germany downs South Korea for final spot (1-0)
* Michael Ballack scored the gamewinner in the 75th minute after receiving at the penalty spot a low Oliver Neuville pass from the flank. Ballack's right-footed shot was parried by Korean keeper Lee Woon Jae. Ballack followed up and slotted the ball home with his left foot. Neuville was sent down the right wing on a pass from Bernd Schneider. All three players are Bayer Leverkusen teammates. (Ballack moves to Bayern Munich next season.) * Ballack, who has three goals and four assists at this tournament, will miss the final, having received his second yellow card of the second round four minutes before he scored. * Germany reaches the World Cup final for the seventh time in history and fifth time in the last eight finals. It has won the title three times. The Germans have reached the semifinal stage 10 times. * The 2002 World Cup will mark the best finish by a unified Germany. It won its three titles (1954, 1974 and 1990) as West Germany. (Ballack was raised in East Germany.) * If Brazil beats Turkey for a final clash with Germany, it will mark the first time that Brazil and Germany — the most successful teams in World Cup history — meet at a World Cup. * ''We started well right from the start, we were very compact in defense. We were always in the position to create chances, we were the deserved winners.'' — Germany coach Rudi Voeller. * ''Of course we are disappointed at not being there [in the final], but in general the German team were a little bit more experienced. We tried in the second half to close them down but, in the first half, I think we had too much respect for them.'' — South Korea coach Guus Hiddink. June 25 in Seoul Germany 1 South Korea 0. Goal: Ballack 75. Germany — Kahn, Linke, Metzelder, Frings, Ramelow, Hamann, Ballack, Schneider (Jeremies, 85), Neuville (Asamoah, 88), Bode, Klose (Bierhoff, 70). Yellow cards: Ballack 71, Neuville, 85. South Korea — Lee Woon Jae, Choi Jin Cheul (Lee Min Sung, 56), Yoo Sang Chul, Kim Tae Young, Lee Chun Soo, Lee Young-Pyo, Hong Myung-Bo (Seol Ki Hyeon, 80), Hwang Sun Hong (Ahn Jung Hwan, 54), Park Ji-Sung, Song Chong Gug, Cha Du Ri. Yellow cards: Lee Min-Sung 94. Referee: Urs Meier (Switzerland). Att.: 65,625.
