By Ridge Mahoney, Senior Editor One nation rejoices as another weeps. The run of the co-host is over, the established power moves on. This time Germany needed just one big save from Oliver Kahn to keep rolling in the World Cup. A staunch defensive effort by both teams was decided when Michael Ballack drove in the rebound of his own shot to bring Germany a 1-0 win over South Korea and a spot in the final. Much as they had done in beating Italy and Spain in the last two wins the South Koreans harried and pressured their opponents, forced turnovers, and broke quickly once possession was won. But a mobile, determined phalanx of Germans usually awaited and more often than not they scraped the ball free. And unlike those last two matches there were no atrocious refereeing decisions to taint the outcome. Both Italy and Spain were robbed of two excellent scoring sequences. Kahn turned away a sharp first-time shot by Song Chong Gug in the early minutes and his teammates blunted most of South Korea's efforts the rest of the way. German coach Rudi Voeller used Thomas Linke in the middle of his three-man back line, with Torsten Frings occasionally dropping into the right-back slot. Linke had been playing on the outside in deference to Carsten Ramelow and Sebastian Kehl, but for this match Voeller put Linke in between Ramelow and Christoph Metzelder, who had started the first four games but had come on as a sub in the quarterfinal win over the United States. From the right side Ramelow pushed frequently into midfield as the Germans strongly preferred to attack on that wing through him and Bernd Schneider. They launched numerous balls from midfield but Choi Jin Cheul and Kim Tae Young usually won the duels. That pair was also dominant on the set pieces Germany lofted into the box. Many balls were delivered accurately but when Miroslav Klose or Marco Bode rose in came crashing a challenger to neutralize their headers. As effective the South Koreans were in shutting off Germany's air game, the visitors were just as efficient slowing down the co-hosts' pressure and pace. Frings and Schneider kept the Germans' right flank secure, Linke helped clear out congestion in the middle of the field and Metzelder doggedly dug into his tackles. Germany did cough up the ball occasionally in their own half of the field and needed a few desperation tackles to prevent clear breaks through to Kahn. Song's first-time shot came after Metzelder stretched his right leg full length to intercept a cross. None of the Korean forwards could break free of the German shackles. They might have been showing the effects of playing 117 minutes against Italy and 120 minutes against Spain. Given how successful the German 3-5-2 formation fared against Korea's 3-4-3 it raises the question of whether the United States might have fared better if it had fielded the same formation against the host that it used later in the competition against Mexico and Germany. The United States, playing a 4-4-2, needed a superb performance by keeper Brad Friedel to come away with a 1-1 tie against South Korea. Germany's game plan to keep numbers around the ball, move as a unit, and only attack when an opening could be found yielded more than the actual formation. Germany at times looked outmanned and ponderous against the United States; it seldom misfired in the semifinal. Coach Guus Hiddink made three changes from the latter match but keeping his place up front was Park Ji Sung. He didn't look sharp and neither did Hwang Sun Hong, who got the start over Seol Ki Young. Ahn Jung Hwan, goalscoring hero in overtime time against Italy as a starter, came on as a substitute for Hwang to little effect as Park and Cha were smothered and Lee Young Pyo and Song could do little on the flanks. South Korea didn't create as many opportunities as the United States had against Germany, yet it also permitted fewer chances. And as it had against the United States, Germany exploited one of the few chances it did generate. Rather than on a set play, the goal came from a swift attack down the right side. Oliver Neuville got free and cut a ball back diagonally past two defenders that Ballack, arriving late out of midfield, drove at keeper Lee Woon Jae. When the rebound came right back to him, all Ballack had to do was meet it with his left foot to send it into the net. South Korea renewed its pressure and nearly hit right back, but a shot was deflected and Kahn swatted the ensuing corner kick out of danger. Germany had done a masterful job of marshaling its energies throughout the match and despite their remarkable stamina the Koreans could not overrun the opposition in the final minutes as they had done to equalize against Italy before winning in overtime. They had conquered three European foes at this World Cup. A fourth was beyond them but only just. Instead of a trip to Yokohama, South Korea stays home to play the third-place match Saturday in Daegu against either Turkey or Brazil, which play the other semifinal Wednesday in Saitama, Japan.