2002 Korea & Japan World Cup

The German national team was so close to the Jules Rimet Trophy.

At the qualification stage, the national team once again gained 7 points and moved on to the next stage. They had a dramatic win against Saudi Arabia (8-0) in the first game they played. Next, a draw with the Republic of Ireland (1-1) and then a win against Cameroon (2-0). In the knockout stage, Germany beat Paraguay, then the United States, and finally the host Korea with the same score (1-0). In the final, goalkeeper Oliver Kahn made mistakes that eventually lead to defeat. They lost two goals against Brazil and returned home with disappointment.

After the turn of the century, the German national team became more and more diverse. Not only did the players who came from the former GDR start to play important roles (such as Michiael Ballack and Jörg Böhme), but players who were born outside of Germany migrated and began to shine on the national team. If you move the map slightly to the bottom, you can see the birthplace of Gerald Asamoah: Mampong, Ghana. Oliver Neuville was born in Locarno, Switzerland. He had a German father and a Swiss mother who lived in the Italian speaking area of Switzerland. He inherited his last name from his grandfather who was a Belgian. Another striker, Miroslav Klose, first played for the national team in 2012. He was born in the Silesian city of Opole, Poland. His mother used to play for the Poland women's national handball team. Klose moved to Germany when he was 8 years old.