Fenômeno's final double (2) | 100 great World Cup moments
Our countdown continues with a look back to Ronaldo's brace in the 2002 final.
As we count down to the start of the global showpiece in Qatar on 20 November, FIFA+ is showcasing 100 of the greatest moments in FIFA World Cup™ history.
For Ronaldo, the years leading up to the 2002 World Cup were laced with heartache. He had tasted defeat in the previous Final against France amid controversy over his fitness, before enduring years of injury hell at Inter Milan, which kept him out of Brazil’s qualifying campaign.
In total, Ronaldo had managed just over 400 minutes for Inter in 2002 before sauntering on to the World Cup stage looking to rewrite the wrongs of '98. Brazil powered through the group stage before edging past Belgium, England, and Turkey to make a third consecutive World Cup Final, where Germany lay in wait at Yokohama's International Stadium.
Many of Brazil’s games at the finals were tense, and the showpiece match was no exception. But Ronaldo was on a one-man mission for glory.
With the game goalless, he picked the pocket of Dietmar Hamann in the 67th minute and laid it into the path of Rivaldo, who arrowed a shot towards Oliver Kahn's goal. When the 'keeper could only parry, Ronaldo raced in to tuck away the loose ball.
Then, just over ten minutes later, Kleberson embarked on a buccaneering run down the right and picked out Rivaldo, who dummied the ball for it to run on through to Ronaldo. The man of the moment took one touch and side footed it home with consummate ease to seal victory and redemption for the Seleção.
"A cup of overcoming," Ronaldo said. "I remember every goal as if it were yesterday."
His eight strikes - the most since Gerd Muller’s ten in Mexico 1970, and a number not surpassed since - won him the adidas Golden Shoe award.
While he may have been a passenger during the 1998 Final at the Stade de France, there is no doubting he was the driving force in 2002 – the most iconic of players with the most iconic of haircuts, scaling the heights of the game’s most iconic tournament.
Ronaldo | Golden Shoe Award | 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ Ronaldo | Silver Ball Award | 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan™ Ronaldo the Goal Machine | Remix Play FIFA World Cup™ Fantasy League Seven Games from Glory | The Official Film of the 2002 FIFA World Cup™ Ronaldo | Brazil | Classic Players Brazil: All champions goals Germany v Brazil (2002) | Full Match Replay