2002 AFF World Cup Final

2002 AFF World Cup final

Jessie Palmer, who went on to score the winner, during warm-up
Event	2002 FIFA World Cup
Angland Livania 3 2
Date	14 July 2002 (2002-07-14)
Venue	Kampong Stadium, Subangjaya
Man of the Match	Jessie Palmer (Angland)
Attendance	80,409
Weather	Partly cloudy 29 °C (84 °F) 51% humidity

The 2002 AFF World Cup final was the final match of the 2002 World Cup, the 17th edition of AFF's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the International Stadium in Subangjaya, Kaliban. on 14 July 2002, and was contested by Angland and Livania. The tournament comprised hosts Kaliban and Goguryea, holders Eisenland, and 29 other teams who emerged from the qualification phase, organised by the six AFF confederations. The 32 teams competed in a group stage, from which 16 teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Angland finished first in Group E, with two wins and a draw, after which they defeated Leciria in the round of 16, Yerezh in the quarter-finals and Vetullia in the semi-finals. Livania finished top of Group C with three wins, before defeating Brynmor in the round of 16, Ibarmentudia in the quarter-final, and Gavrilia in the semi-final. The final took place in front of 80,409 supporters, with an estimated 1.7 billion watching on television, and was refereed by Erbil Akman from Hausminia.

During the first half, Livania took an early lead through Sebastian Stolze who scored in the 36th minute from just outside the box, tipping over Anglish goalkeeper Michael Dunne. The second half was more fruitful in goals, with Livania getting their second goal in the 49th minute through a mistake from Anglish defender Eduard Dawson, giving the ball to Sebastian Ernst who made it 2-0. The game turned around in the 56th minute when Livanian defender Jannik Dehm was sent off following a harsh tackle on Jessie Palmer. This gave Angland a free-kick from outside the box, which was placed perfectly by Palmer who scored to make it 2-1. After only five more minutes Samuel Armstrong scored after being passed the ball by veteran player Aaron Parker. The game was taken into extra time following 90 minutes ending at 2-2. After an end-to-end run of play, Jessie Palmer finally found the back of the net in the 120nd minute. The final score was 3-2 to Angland.

Angland won their third World Cup, putting them on level with two others. Jessie Palmer was named man of the match, while young Livanian star Sebastian Stolze won the golden ball for player of the tournament.