Why do Brazil and Germany never play one another? - SBNation.com

No two nations have done as much World Cupping as today's semi-finalists, Brazil and Germany. This edition's hosts are the only side to play at all twenty competitions; the Germans have missed only two. Brazil have won it five times and played 102 matches in the process; while their European opponents have only lifted the trophy on a mere three occasions, they've actually played 104 games at the finals. And yet, when they meet later today in Belo Horizonte, it will be only the second time they've met at a World Cup.

[...] Perhaps that's why Oliver Kahn spilled the ball so limply in the 2002 final. He was completely overwhelmed by the awkwardness of the situation.