Oliver Kahn of the tournament that Kahn became the starting goalkeeper. Two years after the 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, in which defending champions Germany made an embarrassing exit in the group stage, Kahn received the squad's captaincy, succeeding the striker Oliver Bierhoff. Kahn experienced one of his worst performances in his international career against England in Munich in 2001. Germany were favoured to win as they had beaten England 1–0 in 2000 at the Wembley Stadium. However, they were routed 5–1, including a hat-trick by Michael Owen. Despite the defeat, Germany qualified for the World Cup after winning a playoff against
Oliver Kahn to keep him from playing. With Rensing in goal, Bayern Munich won the match 2–0. Kahn announced his intention to honour his contract and play through the 2007–08 season. As of 2011, he is the all time clean sheet leader in the history of the Bundesliga, with 197. On 2 September 2007, aged 38, he played his 535th Bundesliga match, becoming the league's all-time leader among goalkeepers in matches played. Kahn made his final European appearance for Bayern in a 4–0 defeat to Zenit Saint Petersburg in the UEFA cup semi-final on 1 May 2008. His last Bundesliga game was