Hamann (right) - confident of Germany's future (Allsport)

By Ian Parkes, PA Sport, Yokohama

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Dietmar Hamann is confident Germany will gain strength from their World Cup Final defeat to Brazil as they now begin the countdown towards the 2006 tournament on home soil.

There is no disputing Germany were beaten by a far superior team at the Yokohama International Stadium, even if Ronaldo was gifted the first of his two match-winning goals which ensured Brazil became world champions for a fifth time.

While there is also no doubting Germany exceeded everybody's expectations - even their own - the fact they reached the final gives coach Rudi Voller a platform on which to build over the next four years.

Reaching the European Championships in 2004 first takes priority before a two-year hiatus ahead of the next World Cup as Germany are exempt from qualifying as they will be hosts.

But Liverpool midfielder Hamann is convinced Germany can look ahead with optimism as he said: "We did well in this tournament.

"I don't think people expected us to do as well as we did, so I think everybody in the German camp can be proud of themselves because we deserved to be in the final.

"The future of German football now looks a lot brighter than it did before the start of the tournament.

"It was important to show the people we are still alive after what has happened to us in the last two to three years. People in Germany have suffered because of the national team, but we showed everybody we are back.

"Obviously, defeats like these are hard to take, but they make you even stronger and I think we will show that in the coming years as we build towards 2006.

"We will first sit back and reflect on the last few weeks, but then we will push on and try to qualify for the European Championships."

A respectful Hamann gave credit where it was rightly due to Brazil, who became the first team to win all their matches en route to lifting the trophy since they themselves did so in Mexico 32 years ago.

The opener was unthinkable to German fans as captain and goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, the figurehead without whom Germany would not have reached the final, spilled a 20-yard shot from Rivaldo, so allowing Ronaldo to tap home.

Although damaging ligaments to the ring finger of his right hand minutes earlier, Kahn did not make that an excuse for the one moment in the tournament when he looked fallible.

There was nothing he could do about Ronaldo's second, though, for after one touch to control Kleberson's right-wing cross - superbly dummied by Rivaldo - the 25-year-old then drove home superbly from 16 yards.

It was Ronaldo's golden-boot winning eighth of the competition, signalling the end of two years of hell following two potentially career-ending knee injuries and erasing the memory of the France '98 final when he was a passenger in a 3-0 defeat to the hosts.

Hamann offered his congratulations to Ronaldo as he added: "He scored the winning goals and I think he showed he is world class.

"Everybody knows how hard it is to come back from injury, so it is amazing how well he has done.

"Of course, to lose in a final is always disappointing. We had a chance, but we lost to the best team in the tournament. Brazil deserved to win the title."

For Kahn, the memory of his mistake is likely to haunt him for the rest of his life and there was nothing that could be said or done to console the 33-year-old.

However, he was refusing to let one moment of indiscretion ruin what has been an amazing few weeks as he said: "I think the one over-riding factor at this World Cup was our tremendous team spirit.

"Morale in the team was excellent throughout the tournament. There were no squabbles, no inflated egos, no dissent and this is what helped keep us afloat.

"We led Germany to new heights, heights that nobody thought would be possible, and we can continue to build for the future. I think we have put Germany, and German football, back to where it belongs - among the top four.

"The mixture of team members was very good. There were some members of the team who wanted to forget the memories of Euro 2000, whilst at the same time there were new players coming through who wanted to make a name for themselves with a view to 2006.

"Everything fitted together extremely well and we enjoyed the moment, but that's unfortunately no guarantee that things will work out just as well in two, or even, four years' time."