The 2008 FA Cup final was an association football match between Cardiff City and Portsmouth held at Wembley Stadium, London, on 17 May 2008.

For Portsmouth, lone striker Nwankwo Kanu nearly opened the scoring by hitting the post before converting a later chance, after the ball had been spilled by Cardiff goalkeeper Peter Enckelman, to lead at half time.

In the second half, Portsmouth focused on defending their lead and, although Cardiff pressured for long periods, they were unable create many clear chances.

For winning the competition, Portsmouth received £1 million in prize money, as well as qualification to the 2008–09 UEFA Cup – their first foray into European football.

As with league fixtures, FA Cup matches are subject to change in the event of games being selected for television coverage and this often can be influenced by clashes with other competitions.

[5] Cardiff were given an early scare as an own goal by defender Kevin McNaughton, from a cross by Ben Steane, gave Chasetown the lead in the 17th minute.

Teenager Aaron Ramsey, making his first appearance in an FA Cup match, put Cardiff ahead with a close-range header and winger Paul Parry hit the ball through Chasetown goalkeeper Lee Evans' legs to ensure progression to the fourth round.

McNaughton opened the scoring with his first goal for Cardiff striking a volley from the edge of the Hereford penalty area during first-half injury time.

Whittingham opened the scoring for Cardiff after 90 seconds as he collected a flick-on from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink before shooting past opposition goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey.

Striker David Nugent, who started the match as a substitute, scored the winning goal in the 51st minute, allowing Portsmouth to progress into the next round.

The match was held at Portsmouth's home ground, Fratton Park, and the visitors took the lead early in the first half when midfielder Chris Clark scored his first goal for Plymouth, which came from a deflection off Hermann Hreiðarsson.

A goal by Niko Kranjčar from an eight-yard pass from right back Glen Johnson gave Portsmouth a 2–1 victory and progression to the next round of the FA Cup.

The only goal of the game came in the final seconds of the match, as Preston midfielder Darren Carter attempted to clear a corner kick from Kranjčar but struck the ball into his own net.

Striker Nwankwo Kanu side-footed the winning goal of the match, which meant Portsmouth had secured a place in the final for the first time since 1939.

[19] The 2008 final was the first time since 1995 that the competition would be won by a team other than the "big four" of English football, Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea.

[26] The FA later issued a statement saying they would give their permission for Cardiff to participate in the UEFA Cup as one of England's representatives in the competition should the need arise.

Veteran striker Robbie Fowler was given 10 days to prove his fitness by manager Dave Jones, having not played in four months since undergoing hip surgery.

[30] The final decision over Fowler was not revealed until Jones announced his side around 90 minutes before the match, in which the forward was omitted from the matchday squad.

[32] Singer and Cardiff fan James Fox recorded a song for the occasion, which was released as the club's official FA Cup single.

Consequently, Kanu was chosen ahead of Baros and Nugent as a lone striker in a 4–1–4–1 formation,[21][37] with support from a five-man midfield of Kranjčar, John Utaka, Mendes, Diarra and Muntari.

[31][41] His assistants for the match were Trevor Massey (Manchester) and Martin Yerby (Kent) while Chris Foy (Liverpool) was named as the fourth official.

Cardiff had a similar chance to their first moments later as Ledley played in Parry who broke through the opposition defence and advanced towards goal before James was able to push the ball away at his feet.

[31] The two teams traded off-target attempts at goal midway through the half, both Parry and Roger Johnson failed to hit the target after the ball was played in from a set-piece.

Portsmouth responded quickly as Utaka broke free of the defence and played in Kanu, but his shot was deflected wide by Loovens for a corner.

Cardiff made a second change ten minutes later as Thompson replaced Hasselbaink, but they struggled to create further opportunities until Loovens again caused problems from a corner.

[55] Of the 16 players in Portsmouth's matchday squad, the final was the last match for two, Muntari and Baros,[56][57] while Mendes appeared in the Community Shield before being sold to Rangers.

[61][62] Several players involved in the match for Cardiff left the club prior to the new season, with veteran trio Hasselbaink and Sinclair retiring and Fowler joining Blackburn Rovers.

[63][65] The 2008 final led the FA and the Football League to largely ban the playing of anthems in future matches between English and Welsh sides after jeering from both sets of supporters.