Oliver Kahn Century and Best Goalkeeper of the Past 25 Years elections. From 1994 to 2006, Kahn was part of the German national team, in which he played as a starter after the retirement of Andreas Köpke; he was an unused member of the squad that won the 1996 UEFA European Championship. In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, although Germany was not among the tournament favourites, Kahn's prowess in goal was key to reaching the final, where Germany lost 0–2 to Brazil and Kahn made a mistake on Brazil's first goal, nonetheless he received the Golden Ball as player of the tournament.
Oliver Kahn Michael Rensing substituted him in the 55th minute. Kahn was initially called for the German national team as a late back-up for the 1994 FIFA World Cup; however he made his first international appearance on 23 June 1995 in a 2–1 victory against Switzerland, two months after recovering from his cruciate ligament injury. Along with Oliver Reck, Kahn was a reserve keeper of the squad, which won the 1996 UEFA European Football Championship in England. Kahn spent the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France on the bench, and it was not until Andreas Köpke announced his retirement at the end