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1998: France 3, Brazil 0. Brazil didn't come out for warm-ups before the game, and barely made an appearance in the first half. Two-time world player of the year Ronaldo was a shadow of his normal self, having suffered convulsions just hours before the final. "We were apathetic in a game when we couldn't be apathetic," said Brazil goalkeeper Taffarel.
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2002: Brazil 2, Germany 0. Ronaldo capitalizes on blunder by German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, and scores twice. Arguably best game of the last six finals. It capped what the AP called a "World Cup of upsets and upstarts."
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2006: Italy 1, France 1. Italy wins shootout. France captain Zinedine Zidane red-carded in extra time for head-butting Marco Materazzi. "Zidane hurt not only his team, but the sport of soccer itself," said the AP.
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2010: Spain 1, Netherlands 0. A bad-tempered final with a record 14 yellow cards two leading to red for the Netherlands' John Heitinga. "Not by any stretch of the imagination was this a standout World Cup," said the AP.