Match summary
United were narrow 1-0 winners in Tokyo and owed their victory to Irish midfielder Roy Keane. He struck in the 35th minute from close range after Palmeiras goalkeeper Marcos had misjudged the flight of a Giggs cross. Giggs himself missed a golden opportunity to extend United's advantage in the second half, although the English champions did survive several scares at the other end. Mickael Silvestre cleared an Alex effort off the line and United goalkeeper Mark Bosnich did well to keep out a header from point-blank range by Oseas among other saves. If United had won without being at their best, it did not concern Sir Alex Ferguson, who said: "I'm very pleased we've become the first English team to win the world championship. This is very special."

Key Player
Welsh winger Giggs may have collected the man of the match award and David Beckham may have drawn the loudest cheers from the Japanese spectators but the man at the heart of United's success was Keane. After joining from Nottingham Forest in 1993, the fierce-tackling Irishman replaced Bryan Robson as the team's driving force and for ten years was arguably the best midfielder in English football. Sir Alex's representative on the pitch, his contribution to the United cause was encapsulated by his performance in the 1999 UEFA Champions League semi-final when he almost single-handedly dragged United back from 2-0 down to beat Juventus in Turin. Unfortunately for Keane, he was suspended for the final - a rare disappointment in a glittering career.

Coach
A former feisty center forward, Sir Alex proved equally combative as a manager, first in his native Scotland with Aberdeen, the provincial club from the east coast who he led to unprecedented success at the expense of the established 'Old Firm' of Celtic and Rangers. Aberdeen won three league titles under him in the first half of the 80s and also beat Real Madrid to win the UEFA Cup Winners Cup. In 1986, while still Aberdeen manager, Sir Alex was Scotland manager at the FIFA World Cup ^TM in Mexico, after taking the reins following the sudden death of his great mentor Jock Stein. November of that year saw Sir Alex arrive at Old Trafford and begin the job of restoring United to a position of supremacy in English football. Success came slowly but once his first league title arrived in 1993, the trickle became a flood: among Sir Alex's greatest achievements were United's double win in 1994 and their treble of 1999, which included the capture of the "Holy Grail" of the European Cup. Moreover they did it playing exciting, attacking football that illustrated Sir Alex's belief in the virtues of wing play.

30 November at the National Stadium, Tokyo
Manchester United 1-0 Palmeiras
Attendance: 53,372
Referee: Helmut Krug (Ger)
Goal: Keane (35)
Manchester United: Bosnich, G Neville, Irwin, Stam, Silvestre, Keane, Butt, Beckham, Scholes (Sheringham), Giggs, Solskjaer (Yorke).
Palmeiras: Marcos, Junior Baiano, Arce, Junior, Roque Junior, Cesar Sampaio, Zinho, Galeano (Evair), Asprilla (Oseas), Alex, Paulo Nunes (Euller).