Ronaldo must beat star goalkeeper Oliver Kahn

By Jason Hughes, PA International, Yokohama

Brazil take on Germany for the first time in World Cup history, giving fans the chance to witness some enthralling tussles.

Here PA Sport looks at the key battles which will decide whether the famous trophy is bound for Europe or South America.

Ronaldo v Oliver Kahn

The World Cup's top scorer against arguably the world's best goalkeeper.

Ronaldo has scored six goals in six games, and he will be looking to be the first player since Poland's Grzegorz Lato to hit the magnificent seven mark during the tournament.

However the Brazilian superstar will come up against the man who has been beaten just once - by the Republic of Ireland's Robbie Keane - as the Germans have kept five clean sheets on their way to the final.

Their battle will be a tantalising sideshow to a mouth-watering clash.

Rivaldo v Christoph Metzelder

At 21 years old, Metzelder's assured performances have been all the more astounding from a player who only made his international debut 10 months ago.

The Borussia Dortmund centre-back stepped in to plug the gap left by the injured Jens Nowotny, and has been one of the finds of the tournament.

But former FIFA World Player of the Year Rivaldo has also hit top form during the past month.

He is just one goal behind Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Shoe and he will be keen not to let his team-mate outshine him.

Ronaldinho v Dietmar Hamann

The Brazilian striker will be chomping at the bit after missing the semi-final win over Turkey.

He showed against England, before his red card, how dangerous he can be running from deep when he set up the equaliser for Rivaldo.

It will be Hamann's job to stop Ronaldinho surging forward and the role of the Liverpool midfielder, often the unsung hero, will be even more important with midfield partner Michael Ballack suspended.

Lucio v Miroslav Klose

Lucio and Klose will already be familiar to each other as the Brazilian plays in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen.

The Kaiserslautern striker, though, failed to score when the two met in the Bundesliga last year.

After a blistering start to the tournament with five goals in the group stage, the goals have dried up for Klose.

But his dogged determination could be just the thing to unsettle Lucio, in much the same way that Michael Owen did.

Roberto Carlos v Bernd Schneider

The pair would have already met during last season's Champions League final with Roberto Carlos' Real Madrid coming out on top against Bayer Leverkusen.

The Brazilian's marauding runs down the left are a prominent feature of their play, with Schneider the man charged with stopping him in his tracks.

Schneider has benefited from injuries to Mehmet Scholl and Sebastian Deisler to force his way into the side.

He is also competent on the attack, and would take advantage if Roberto Carlos was caught out of position up field.