The 1999 FA Cup final was an association football match that took place on 22 May 1999 at the old Wembley Stadium in London to determine the winner of the 1998–99 FA Cup. It was contested between Manchester United and Newcastle United. Goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes gave Manchester United a 2–0 win to claim their 10th FA Cup title. It was the second part of the treble of trophies Manchester United won during the 1998–99 season, which was completed four days later, when they won the Champions League.
Manchester United faced Premier League opposition in every round of the competition except the fifth. Their semi-final against the cup holders, Arsenal, was the last in the history of the competition to go to a replay; after a 0–0 draw in the original match, Manchester United won the replay 2–1. In the other semi-final, Newcastle beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–0.
As Manchester United had already qualified for the 1999–2000 UEFA Champions League, England's place in the 1999–2000 UEFA Cup was given to Newcastle United as the runners-up. Manchester United did not defend their FA Cup title, choosing instead to participate in the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship in Brazil, believing that it would help The Football Association's bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup (which was eventually awarded to the German Football Association). As winners of the FA Cup, Manchester United also played in the 1999 FA Charity Shield against Premier League runners-up Arsenal.
Background
Manchester United went into the match as champions of England, having clinched the Premier League title in their final game the previous weekend after losing just three league games all season. They had also qualified for the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final against Bayern Munich, due to be played four days later on 26 May, and were unbeaten in their previous 31 matches in all competitions. By contrast, Newcastle United had failed to win any of their final seven league matches; since their last win (against Derby County on 3 April), their only victory had come in the FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur. Newcastle finished 13th out of the 20 teams in the Premier League, and were knocked out of the Cup Winners' Cup in the first round and the League Cup in the fourth round.
It was Newcastle's second consecutive appearance in the FA Cup Final – having lost 2–0 to Arsenal in 1998 – and their 13th appearance overall. They had a 50 percent record in their previous 12 finals. Manchester United had a better record in their 14 previous final appearances, having won on a record nine occasions; the last two, in 1994 and 1996, had been part of doubles. With victory in the 1999 final, Manchester United would become the first English club to win the Double on three occasions, and it would put them one win away from a continental treble of the league, the FA Cup and the European Cup, a feat no English team had ever managed before.
The two teams had previously met 128 times in all competitions; Manchester United had won 60 times, Newcastle United 37 times, and the remaining 31 matches had finished as draws. Only two of those meetings were in the FA Cup: the first took place in the 1908–09 semi-final, when Manchester United won 1–0 at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on the way to their first FA Cup title, and the second in the fifth round of the 1989–90 competition, when Manchester United won 3–2 at St James' Park before going on to win their seventh FA Cup. Manchester United also came out on top in their two league meetings in the 1998–99 season, winning 2–1 at St James' Park on 13 March after playing out a goalless draw at Old Trafford on 8 November.
This was the first FA Cup Final that would not be replayed in the event of a draw. Instead, the match would be decided on the day, first with a period of extra time then a penalty shoot-out if the scores were still level.
Route to the final
As Premier League clubs, both Manchester United and Newcastle United entered the 1998–99 FA Cup in the third round proper. Newcastle were drawn at home to First Division side Crystal Palace, and Manchester United at home to fellow Premier League side Middlesbrough, whose 3–2 win at Old Trafford in the league two weeks earlier would turn out to be Manchester United's last defeat all season. Despite the team's goalkeeper, Shay Given, being sent off within the first 15 minutes and then going 1–0 down, Newcastle came from behind to beat Crystal Palace in their tie, while Manchester United also overturned Middlesbrough's 1–0 lead to win 3–1.