SEOUL, South Korea — Germany's drive to recapture its past glory is nearly complete.
The three-time champion beat co-host South Korea 1-0 Tuesday night to reach the World Cup final for the seventh time. The Germans are one win from equaling Brazil's record, and they could get it against the Brazilians, who play Turkey in the other semifinal on Wednesday night in Saitama, Japan.
For the second straight game, midfielder Michael Ballack scored the only goal. He sent in a rebound for the winner in the 75th minute. Against the United States in the quarterfinals, he scored on a header.
But Ballack, given a yellow card shortly before scoring, won't be in the final because he has two yellow cards.
Minutes after the final whistle, coach Rudi Voeller received a call on his cell phone from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder congratulating the team.
"I think we are going to have a beer or two," said 21-year-old defender Christoph Metzelder, one of the rising stars of the squad. "We fought with everything we had."
Playing some of their most convincing soccer of the tournament, the Germans shrugged off a deafening home crowd of 65,000 and produced a mature performance to subdue the giant-killing South Korean team, the first Asian country to reach a World Cup semifinal.
It was a far cry from the German team that was humiliated at the European Championship in 2000, when it went home without winning a game as defending champion.
That disaster brought on a long period of soul-searching for the soccer power.
Already low on confidence, the Germans took on more humiliation when they lost 5-1 to England at home in World Cup qualifying. They had to endure a nerve-racking playoff round against Ukraine and came to the World Cup with such low expectations that just reaching the second round was considered a success.
They have done much more, proving once again they are a powerful tournament team, growing with each match.
Now, Germany is in its first final since 1990, when it won the last of its three titles in Italy. It was knocked out of the quarterfinals in 1994 and 1998.
"Once you are in the semifinal, you get confident," coach Rudi Voeller said. "We were well-organized, and we played well. We deserved to be in the final. We can be proud."
Voeller is one victory from matching the feat of Franz Beckenbauer, who won the title both as player and coach. Voeller, a forward on that 1990 team, could do it in his first World Cup, while Beckenbauer needed two tournaments to complete the double.
"The better fitness of the Germans decided the match," Beckenbauer said. "It was again a team victory, that's the strength of the German team. It was just a matter of time until we scored."
Much of the credit for Germany's remarkable turnaround must go to Voeller, who took over a dispirited team in 2000 and made it into a self-confident unit resembling the German teams of old. Those teams were known for their unstoppable drive to win.
The Germans have not been brilliant in this tournament, but they have done whatever was needed in their sturdy, reliable way.
Their last three matches were all 1-0 victories. They have allowed only one goal while scoring 14.
In Oliver Kahn, they have the best goalkeeper in the tournament. And even though striker Miroslav Klose has gone three games without scoring — after notching five in the first three — they have gotten the goals they needed.
Against the speedy South Koreans, the Germans had long periods of domination and patiently waited for their opening. It came when Oliver Neuville broke down the right wing and sent a pass for Ballack to drive home. The first shot was saved, but he left-footed home the rebound.
Lost in the sea of red-clad Korean fans during the match, a group of several dozen German supporters celebrated after the game in one corner of Seoul's World Cup Stadium.