How did the players rate?

Germany:

Oliver Kahn Great save early on from Lee Chun Soo deflated the Koreans. Germany's "only world class player" according to Franz Beckenbauer, looked the part. Classy punches from corners and excellent all-round athleticism. 8/10

Christoph Metzelder Sharp defending early on saved a corner. Always looked keen to get forward and produced a number of telling crosses from the left. 7/10

Carsten Ramelow A tower of strength in the centre of the German defence. Tested keeper early on and looked positive with runs and passes out of defence. One lovely chip into the box set up a chance for Klose. 8/10

Thomas Linke Very quiet game and was occasionally caught out by Lee's runs. The weak Linke in the back three. 6/10

Torsten Frings Packs even fewer tricks than even Angelo Di Livio, but provided powerful running and a constant outlet for the central midfield players. After a great saving tackle to thwart Cha Doo-ri in the first half, he dragged two long-range shots wide. Escaped a booking for a very ugly challenge on Lee. 7/10

Bernd Schneider Busy, clever, orderly, tidy, neat, annoying and stereotypically efficient. Looked very comfortable throughout and denied the Koreans time on the ball in midfield. 8/10

Dietmar Hamann A duff cross with his non-existent left foot was followed by a great cross with his right which Bode couldn't reach. Full of running as ever and was another reason why the Koreans were overpowered in the middle of the park. 7/10

Michael Ballack Forceful presence before calf injury seemed to slow him down in the second half. Yellow-carded for a last ditch tackle on Lee and will miss the final. Recovered superbly from that disappointment to shake off the constant attentions of Sang Chul Yoo and score a characteristic goal, breaking from midfield to convert Neuville's cross at the second attempt. 8/10

Marco Bode Innocuous for most of the game and will be lucky to keep his place ahead of Christian Ziege for the final. Missed the ball with an overhead attempt and then again when a corner bobbled through to him in the first half. Was slightly livelier in the second and had a fierce free-kick well saved by Lee Woon-jae. 6/10

Miroslav Klose This man should be on a West End stage with his array of theatrical dives. Some good trickery led to a blocked shot before the break and a header on 61 minutes from Ballack's cross was, frankly, weak. Replaced by Bierhoff after 69 minutes. 6/10

Oliver Neuville Missed an early header when the ball was too high for his diminutive frame. And was muscled off the ball when clean through on goal early on. Hit several long range shots wide but showed good persistence to cross for Ballack's goal. Replaced for the last five minutes by Gerald Asamoah. 6/10

Substitutes:


Oliver Bierhoff Added a physical presence to the front line which unsettled the Koreans, and stepped aside to allow Ballack to stroke home the goal. 7/10

Jens Jeremies The Bayern Munich midfielder struggled to make an impact on the game. Then again, he only had six minutes. 6/10

Gerald Asamoah Looks like Emile Heskey and was probably less effective than the England striker during his five-minute cameo. 5/10

South Korea:

Lee Woon-jae Faultless throughout, Lee was left helplessly exposed for Ballack's winner. Even then, it took the sour Kraut two stabs to beat the unsung Samsung stopper. Prolonged the game as a contest moments later by punching Bode's beefy drive aside. 8/10

Choi Jin-cheul Arguably Korea's man of the match. Shadowed the over-rated Klose with almost Germanic efficiency throughout the first half. His finest moment arrived as Neuville broke clear on goal. Unflustered, Choi made up the ground and ushered his opponent away from goal and a shooting chance with the minimum of fuss. A moment of true beauty. Replaced after 56 minutes. 8/10

Hong Myung-bo Korea's captain bowed out of international football with another tidy, efficient performance. Like his colleagues, Hong was never afraid to put himself in where it hurts though partly responsible for allowing Ballack open season on Woon-jae Lee. Sacrificed after 80 minutes as Korea sought a late equaliser. 7/10

Kim Tae-young An alternative shout for Korea's most impressive player (though the fact both are defenders tells its own tale), the Chunnam Dragon stuck his gimp-masked mush in where it really smarts. Kept Neuville quiet with very little fuss. Every bit as impressive a defender this summer as Rio Ferdinand. 8/10

Park Ji-sung When offered a chance to drag Korea level from 10 yards in the 91st minute, Park blazed an ugly Waddle-esque drive over the bar and kissed goodbye to hero status. That he had an otherwise decent enough game won't save him from a good few sleepless nights. 6.5/10

Song Chong-gug It says much about the balance of play that almost all of Song's defining moments came as he tracked back into his own half, a task he completed with no little credit. His attacking influence increased slightly after the break, but for about all of two minutes. 6.5/10

Yoo Sang-chul The man Guus Hiddink primed to man-mark dangerman Michael Ballack had an imperious evening. Apart, of course, for the one occasion when he forgot Guus' instructions and let Ballack dance through and decide the game. Another man who'll struggle to sleep for some time. 7.5/10

Lee Young-pyo Epitomised the Korean approach: slick, tricky and happy to motor back-and-forth all night long, but ultimately lacking the cunning to make any real impact. 6/10

Cha Doo-ri Filled Ahn's boots from the start but did much of his best work tracking back, most notably guiding a header clear under pressure on his own six-yard box. When presented with a rare opportunity to strike at the other end, a combination of Frings' last-ditch tackle and Cha's lack of pace deprived him of the glory shot. 6/10

Hwang Sun-hong In his 54 minutes on show, the busy Hwang enjoyed a no-holds-barred encounter with Ramelow. Given that he failed to ever test Kahn's palms, it seems fair to say that Ramelow came out on top. Replaced by golden boy Ahn just after half-time. 6/10

Lee Chun-soo The first man to test Kahn with a decent strike from, ooh, 12 yards out. After that, Lee made an art of discovering ever-darker blind alleys. He was heading down yet another of them - despite being in an exciting four-on-two attacking situation - when Michael Ballack decided he didn't much fancy Brazil on Sunday and sent him tumbling for a yellow card. 6/10

Substitutes


Ahn Jung-hwan Luciano Gaucci's Korean cash cow brought much-needed guile to the hosts' cause when he entered the fray after 54 minutes, but as the game slipped away, he was forced to drop deeper and deeper in search of the ball. As a result, Ahn struggled to make any real impact. 6/10

Seol Ki Hyeon Replaced Hong Myung-bo with 10 minutes remaining. Had he had longer, he might have done more. Then again... 5/10

Lee Min Sung Came on for Choi Jin-cheul after 56 minutes and was arguably culpable for Ballack being free to pick his spot. Other than that moment - though it will hardly be a consolation - he looked solid. 6.5/10