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2006 FIFA World Cup
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| FIFA Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft Deutschland 2006 | |
|---|---|
 Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden (A time to make friends) | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Germany |
| Dates | 9 June – 9 July |
| Teams | 32 (from 6 confederations) |
| Venue | 12 (in 12 host cities) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Italy (4th title) |
| Runners-up |  France |
| Third place |  Germany |
| Fourth place |  Portugal |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 64 |
| Goals scored | 147 (2.3 per match) |
| Attendance | 3,359,439 (52,491 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Miroslav Klose (5 goals) |
| Best player | Zinedine Zidane |
| Best young player | Lukas Podolski |
| Best goalkeeper | Gianluigi Buffon |
| Fair play award |  Brazil Spain |
← 2002 2010 → | |
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process along with hosts Germany for the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition and the first as a unified country along with the former East Germany with Leipzig as a host city (the other was in 1974 in West Germany), and the 10th time that the tournament was held in Europe.
Italy won the tournament, claiming their fourth World Cup title, defeating France 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out in the final after extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw. Germany defeated Portugal 3–1 to finish in third place. Angola, Ukraine, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Trinidad and Tobago and Togo made their first appearances in the finals. It was also the only appearance of Serbia and Montenegro under that name; they had previously appeared in 1998 as Yugoslavia. In late May 2006, immediately prior to the tournament, Montenegro voted in a referendum to become an independent nation and dissolve the loose confederacy then existing between it and Serbia; Serbia recognised the results of the referendum in early June. Due to time constraints, FIFA had Serbia and Montenegro play in the World Cup tournament as one team, marking the first instance of multiple sovereign nations competing as one team in a major football tournament since UEFA Euro 1992.
Brazil were the defending world champions, but were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals.
The 2006 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in television history, garnering an estimated 26.29 billion times viewed compiled over the course of the tournament. The final attracted an estimated audience of 715.1 million people.[1]
Host selection
[edit]The vote to choose the hosts of the 2006 tournament was held in July 2000 in Zürich, Switzerland. It involved four bidding nations after Brazil had withdrawn three days earlier: Germany, South Africa, England and Morocco.[2] Three rounds of voting were required, each round eliminating the nation with the fewest votes. The first two rounds were held on 6 July 2000, and the final round was held on 7 July 2000, which Germany won over South Africa.
| Voting results[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 |
| Germany | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| South Africa | 6 | 11 | 11 |
| England | 5 | 2 | – |
| Morocco | 3 | – | – |
Bribery and corruption allegations
[edit]Accusations of bribery and corruption had marred the success of Germany's bid from the very beginning. On the very day of the vote, a hoax bribery affair was made public, leading to calls for a re-vote.[4] On the night before the vote, German satirical magazine Titanic sent letters to FIFA representatives, offering joke gifts like cuckoo clocks and Black Forest ham in exchange for their vote for Germany. Oceania delegate Charlie Dempsey, who had initially backed England, had then been instructed to support South Africa following England's elimination. He abstained, citing "intolerable pressure" on the eve of the vote.[5] Had Dempsey voted as originally instructed, the vote would have resulted with a 12–12 tie, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who favoured the South African bid,[6] would have had to cast the deciding vote.[7]
More irregularities surfaced soon after, including, in the months leading up to the decision, the sudden interest of German politicians and major businesses in the four Asian countries whose delegates were decisive for the vote.[8] Just a week before the vote, the German government under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lifted their arms embargo on Saudi Arabia and agreed to send grenade launchers to the country. DaimlerChrysler invested several hundred million euros in Hyundai, where one of the sons of the company's founder was a member of FIFA's executive committee. Both Volkswagen and Bayer announced investments in Thailand and South Korea, whose respective delegates Worawi Makudi and Chung Mong-joon were possible voters for Germany.[8][9] Makudi additionally received a payment by a company of German media mogul Leo Kirch, who also paid millions for usually worthless TV rights for friendly matches of the Germany team and FC Bayern Munich.[8][9]
On 16 October 2015, German news magazine Der Spiegel alleged that a slush fund with money from then-Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus was used to influence the vote of four Asian members of the FIFA executive committee.[10] The sum of €6.7 million was later demanded back by Dreyfus. In order to retrieve the money, the Organising Committee paid an equivalent sum to FIFA, allegedly as a German share for the cost of a closing ceremony, which never materialized.[8] Wolfgang Niersbach, president of the German Football Association (DFB), denied the allegations on 17 October 2015, saying that "the World Cup was not bought" and that he could "absolutely and categorically rule out the existence of a slush fund". The DFB announced they would consider seeking legal action against Der Spiegel.[11] During a press conference on 22 October 2015, Niersbach repeated his stance, emphasising that the €6.7 million was used in 2002 to secure a subsidy by FIFA.[12] According to Niersbach, the payment had been agreed upon during a meeting between Franz Beckenbauer and FIFA president Blatter, with the money being provided by Dreyfus. On the same day, FIFA contradicted Niersbach's statement, saying: "By our current state of knowledge, no such payment of 10 million francs was registered by FIFA in 2002."[13] The following day, former DFB president Theo Zwanziger publicly accused Niersbach of lying, saying: "It is evident that there was a slush fund for the German World Cup application". According to Zwanziger, the €6.7 million went to Mohamed Bin Hammam, who at the time was supporting Blatter's campaign for president against Issa Hayatou.[14]
On 22 March 2016, it was announced that the FIFA Ethics Committee was opening proceedings into the bid.[15][16][17]
Qualification
[edit]198 teams attempted to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.[18] Germany, the host nation, was granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 31 finals places divided among the continental confederations. For the first time since 1934, the defending champions did not automatically qualify for the tournament meaning Brazil had to play in the qualifiers. Thirteen places were contested by UEFA teams (Europe), five by CAF teams (Africa), four by CONMEBOL teams (South America), four by AFC teams (Asia), and three by CONCACAF teams (North and Central America and Caribbean). The remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and CONCACAF and between CONMEBOL and OFC (Oceania).
Eight nations qualified for the finals for the first time: Angola, Czech Republic, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and Serbia and Montenegro. Czech Republic and Ukraine were making their first appearance as independent nations, but had previously been represented as part of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union respectively, with Ukraine being the second independent nation to do so after Russia in 1994; Serbia and Montenegro had competed as Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1998, as well as making up part of Yugoslav teams from 1930 to 1990. As of 2022, this was the last time Togo, Angola, Czech Republic, Ukraine and Trinidad and Tobago qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, and the last time Uruguay failed to qualify.
Australia qualified for the first time since 1974. Among the teams who failed to qualify were 2002 third-placed team Turkey, quarter-finalists Senegal, Euro 2004 winners Greece and 2006 Africa Cup of Nations winners Egypt. Additionally, Belgium failed to qualify for the first time since 1978 and Cameroon failed to qualify for the first time since 1986. The other notable qualifying streaks broken were for Nigeria, who had made the previous three tournaments, and Denmark and South Africa, who had both qualified for the previous two. France had their first successful qualifying campaign since 1986, as they did not qualify for the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, in 1998 they were automatically qualified as hosts and in 2002 as defending champions.
For the first time since the 1982 World Cup, all six confederations were represented at the finals tournament.
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro dissolved prior to the start of the World Cup, on 3 June 2006, with Serbia and Montenegro becoming independent countries; their team competed at the World Cup unaffected. Their involvement in the competition became similar to the Commonwealth of Independent States that appeared at UEFA Euro 1992, a team formed to take the Soviet Union's place following dissolution, that multiple sovereign states had been represented in the finals of a major footballing tournament by a single team and the only occurrence in the World Cup finals to date. The highest ranked team not to qualify was Denmark (ranked 11th), while the lowest ranked team that did qualify was Togo (ranked 61st).
List of qualified teams
[edit]The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings,[19] qualified for the finals tournament:
|
|
|
 Countries qualified for World Cup Country did not qualify Countries that did not enter World Cup Country not a FIFA member
|
| Teams listed by FIFA ranking as of May 2006[19] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Country | Confederation | Rank | |
| 1 | Brazil |
CONMEBOL | 1 |
| 2 |  Czech Republic |
UEFA | 2 |
| 3 |  Netherlands |
UEFA | 3 |
| 4 |  Mexico |
CONCACAF | 4 |
| 5 |  United States |
CONCACAF | 5 |
| Spain |
UEFA | 5 | |
| 7 | Portugal |
UEFA | 7 |
| 8 | France |
UEFA | 8 |
| 9 |  Argentina |
CONMEBOL | 9 |
| 10 |  England |
UEFA | 10 |
| 11 | Italy |
UEFA | 13 |
| 12 |  Sweden |
UEFA | 16 |
| 13 |  Japan |
AFC | 18 |
| 14 | Germany |
UEFA | 19 |
| 15 |  Tunisia |
CAF | 21 |
| 16 |  Iran |
AFC | 23 |
 Croatia |
UEFA | 23 | |
| 18 |  Costa Rica |
CONCACAF | 25 |
| 19 |  South Korea |
AFC | 29 |
 Poland |
UEFA | 29 | |
| 21 |  Ivory Coast |
CAF | 32 |
| 22 |  Paraguay |
CONMEBOL | 33 |
| 23 |  Saudi Arabia |
AFC | 34 |
| 24 |  Switzerland |
UEFA | 35 |
| 25 |  Ecuador |
CONMEBOL | 39 |
| 26 |  Australia |
OFC | 42 |
| 27 |  Serbia and Montenegro |
UEFA | 44 |
| 28 |  Ukraine |
UEFA | 45 |
| 29 |  Trinidad and Tobago |
CONCACAF | 47 |
| 30 |  Ghana |
CAF | 48 |
| 31 |  Angola |
CAF | 57 |
| 32 |  Togo |
CAF | 61 |
Venues
[edit]In 2006, Germany had a plethora of football stadia that satisfied FIFA's minimum capacity of 40,000 seats for World Cup matches. The outdated and still-standing Olympiastadion in Munich (69,250), the venue for the 1974 final match was not used for the tournament, even though FIFA's regulations allow one city to use two stadia. Düsseldorf's LTU Arena (51,500), Bremen's Weserstadion (43,000) and Mönchengladbach's Borussia-Park (46,249) were also not used. Düsseldorf was the only 1974 host city not to be selected to host games for the 2006 edition, while Munich and Gelsenkirchen were the only ones with different venues from 32 years prior. One city located in the former East Germany, Leipzig, was selected to host games.
Twelve stadia were selected to host the World Cup matches. During the tournament, many of them were known by different names, as FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadia unless the stadium sponsors are also official FIFA sponsors.[20] For example, the Allianz Arena in Munich was known during the competition as FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich (German: FIFA WM-Stadion München), and even the letters of the company Allianz were removed or covered.[20] Some of the stadia also had a lower capacity for the World Cup, as FIFA regulations ban standing room; nonetheless, this was accommodated as several stadia had a UEFA five-star ranking. The stadia in Berlin, Munich, Dortmund and Stuttgart hosted six matches each, whilst the other eight stadia hosted five matches each.
- A cross denotes an indoor stadium.
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Team base camps
[edit]Base camps were used by the 32 national squads to stay and train before and during the World Cup tournament. FIFA announced the base camps for each participating team.[33]
| National squads' base camps | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Match officials
[edit]| Confederation | Referee | Assistants |
|---|---|---|
| AFC | Toru Kamikawa (Japan) | Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan) Kim Dae-Young (South Korea) |
| Shamsul Maidin (Singapore) | Prachya Permpanich (Thailand) Eisa Ghoulom (United Arab Emirates) | |
| CAF | Coffi Codjia (Benin) | Aboudou Aderodjou (Benin) Célestin Ntagungira (Rwanda) |
| Essam Abdel-Fatah (Egypt) | Dramane Dante (Mali) Mamadou N'Doye (Senegal) | |
| CONCACAF | Benito Archundia (Mexico) | José Ramírez (Mexico) Héctor Vergara (Canada) |
| Marco Rodríguez (Mexico) | José Luis Camargo (Mexico) Leonel Leal (Costa Rica) | |
| CONMEBOL | Horacio Elizondo (Argentina) | Darío García (Argentina) Rodolfo Otero (Argentina) |
| Carlos Simon (Brazil) | Aristeu Tavares (Brazil) Ednílson Corona (Brazil) | |
| Óscar Ruiz (Colombia) | José Navia (Colombia) Fernando Tamayo (Ecuador) | |
| Carlos Amarilla (Paraguay) | Amelio Andino (Paraguay) Manuel Bernal (Paraguay) | |
| Jorge Larrionda (Uruguay) | Wálter Rial (Uruguay) Pablo Fandiño (Uruguay) | |
| OFC | Mark Shield (Australia) | Nathan Gibson (Australia) Ben Wilson (Australia) |
| UEFA | Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium) | Peter Hermans (Belgium) Walter Vromans (Belgium) |
| Graham Poll (England) | Philip Sharp (England) Glenn Turner (England) | |
| Éric Poulat (France) | Lionel Dagorne (France) Vincent Texier (France) | |
| Markus Merk (Germany) | Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany) Christian Schräer (Germany) | |
| Roberto Rosetti (Italy) | Alessandro Stagnelli (Italy) Cristiano Copelli (Italy) | |
| Valentin Ivanov (Russia) | Nikolay Golubev (Russia) Evgueni Volnin (Russia) | |
| Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia) | Roman Slyško (Slovakia) Martin Balko (Slovakia) | |
| Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain) | Victoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain) Pedro Medina Hernández (Spain) | |
| Massimo Busacca (Switzerland) | Francesco Buragina (Switzerland) Matthias Arnet (Switzerland) |
Squads
[edit]Squads for the 2006 World Cup consisted of 23 players, as in the previous tournament in 2002. Each participating national association had to confirm its 23-player squad by 15 May 2006.[35]
Groups
[edit]Seeds
[edit]The eight seeded teams for the tournament were announced on 6 December 2005 and placed into Pot A for the draw. Pot B contained the unseeded qualifiers from South America, Africa and Oceania; Pot C contained eight of the nine remaining European teams, excluding Serbia and Montenegro. Pot D contained unseeded teams from the CONCACAF region and Asia. To ensure that no group contained three European teams, Serbia and Montenegro was placed in a special pot, as they were the lowest ranked qualified team from Europe on the latest FIFA World Ranking; while it was deemed of less importance they had been seeded higher than Switzerland and Ukraine by the 2006 World Cup seeding tool.[36] Serbia and Montenegro was drawn first, then their group was drawn from the three seeded non-European nations, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.
FIFA predetermined that, hosts, Germany would be placed in Group A, thus being assured of the venues of their group matches in advance of the draw. They also announced, in advance, that Brazil (the defending champion) would be allocated to Group F.
|
|
|
|
| Team | Points | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Serbia and Montenegro |
15.7 | 24 |
The group stage draw was held in Leipzig on 9 December 2005, and the group assignments and order of matches were determined. After the draw was completed, commentators remarked that Group C appeared to be the group of death, while others suggested Group E.[37][38] Argentina and the Netherlands both qualified with a game to spare with wins over Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro respectively.
Group system
[edit]The first round, or group stage, saw the 32 teams divided into eight groups of four teams. Each group was a round-robin of three games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same group. Teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw and none for a defeat. The teams coming first and second in each group qualified for the Round of 16.
Ranking criteria
[edit]If teams were level on points, they were ranked on the following criteria in order:
- Greatest total goal difference in the three group matches
- Greatest number of goals scored in the three group matches
- If teams remained level after those criteria, a mini-group would be formed from those teams, who would be ranked on:
- Most points earned in matches against other teams in the tie
- Greatest goal difference in matches against other teams in the tie
- Greatest number of goals scored in matches against other teams in the tie
- If teams remained level after all these criteria, FIFA would hold a drawing of lots
In the original version of the rules for the finals tournament, the ranking criteria were in a different order, with head-to-head results taking precedence over total goal difference. The rules were changed to the above in advance of the tournament, but older versions were still available on the FIFA and UEFA websites, causing some confusion among those trying to identify the correct criteria.[39] In any event, the finals tournament saw only two pairs of teams level on points: Argentina and the Netherlands at 7 points in Group C; Tunisia and Saudi Arabia at 1 point in Group H. Both of these ties were resolved on total goal difference. Also, in both cases the teams had tied their match, so the order of ranking criteria made no difference.
Finals tournament
[edit]The finals tournament of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 9 June. The 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four teams each, within which the teams competed in a round-robin tournament to determine which two of those four teams would advance to the sixteen-team knock-out stage, which started on 24 June. In total, 64 games were played.
Hosting
[edit]Although Germany failed to win the Cup, the tournament was considered a great success for Germany in general. Germany also experienced a sudden increase in patriotic spirit with flags waving, traditionally frowned upon by German society since World War II whenever the German team played.[40] For the closing ceremonies, Matthias Keller composed a work performed simultaneously by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bavarian State Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Orchestra with conductors Christian Thielemann, Zubin Mehta and Mariss Jansons, and soloists Diana Damrau, Plácido Domingo and Lang Lang.
Traditional powers dominate
[edit]Despite early success by Australia, Ecuador, and Ghana, the tournament marked a return to dominance of traditional football powers. Four years after the 2002 tournament, in which teams from North America (the United States), Africa (Senegal) and Asia (South Korea) made it deep into the knockout stages and Turkey finished third, all eight seeded teams progressed to the knockout stages and no quarter-finalists were from outside Europe or South America. Six former champions took part in the quarter-finals, with Ukraine and Euro 2004 runners-up Portugal as the only relative outsiders.[41] Argentina and Brazil were eliminated in the quarter-finals, leaving an all-European final four for only the fourth time (after the 1934, 1966, and 1982 tournaments).
Scoring
[edit]Despite the early goals that flooded the group stages, the knock-out phase had a much lower goals per match ratio. A prime example of the dearth of goals was Portugal, which only scored in the 23rd minute of the round of 16, and did not score again until the 88th minute of the third place play-off. No player managed to score a hat-trick in this tournament. Italy, Germany, Argentina, Brazil and France were the only teams to score more than one goal in a knockout match. Germany was one of the exceptions, tending to play an attacking style of football throughout the knock-out stage, which was reflected by the fact that they scored the most goals (14), with players from all three outfield positions (defence, midfield and forward) making the scoresheet.
Germany's Miroslav Klose scored five goals to claim the Golden Boot, the lowest total to win the prize since 1962. No other player scored more than three goals. No player from the winning Italian squad scored more than two goals, though ten players had scored for the team, tying France's record in 1982 for the most goalscorers from any one team.
For the first time ever in the FIFA World Cup, the first and last goals of the tournament were scored by defenders. German left-back Philipp Lahm scored the opener against Costa Rica after only 5 minutes of the opening match. In the final, Italian centre-back Marco Materazzi out-jumped Patrick Vieira and headed in the last goal of the 2006 World Cup. In addition, Fabio Grosso clinched the cup for Italy with the decisive spot kick in the penalty shootout.
Unprecedented number of cards
[edit]The tournament had a record number of yellow and red cards, breaking the previous record set by the 1998 World Cup. Players received a record-breaking 345 yellow cards and 28 red cards, with Russian referee Valentin Ivanov handing out 16 yellow and 4 red cards in the round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands in a match known as the Battle of Nuremberg. Portugal had two players suspended for each of the quarter-final and semi-final matches respectively. FIFA President Sepp Blatter hinted that he may allow some rule changes for future tournaments so that earlier accumulated bookings will not force players to miss the final, should their teams make it that far. The tournament also saw English referee Graham Poll mistakenly hand out three yellow cards to Croatia's Josip Šimunić in their match against Australia.
The high number of yellow and red cards shown also prompted discussion about the tournament's referees. FIFA officials and President Sepp Blatter received criticism for allegedly making rules too rigid and taking discretion away from referees.[42]
Group stage
[edit]
All times are Central European Summer Time (UTC+2).
In the following tables:
- Pld = total games played
- W = total games won
- D = total games drawn (tied)
- L = total games lost
- GF = total goals scored (goals for)
- GA = total goals conceded (goals against)
- GD = goal difference (GF−GA)
- Pts = total points accumulated
Group A
[edit]In the opening match of the tournament, Germany and Costa Rica played a game which ended 4–2 for the host in the highest scoring opening match in the tournament's history. Germany went on to win the Group A after edging Poland and breezing past Ecuador 3–0. Despite the defeat, Ecuador had already joined the host in the Round of 16 having beaten Poland and Costa Rica 2–0 and 3–0, respectively.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany (H)
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ecuador
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 | |
| 3 | Poland
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Costa Rica
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 |
| Germany | 4–2 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Poland | 0–2 | Ecuador |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ecuador | 3–0 | Costa Rica |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Costa Rica | 1–2 | Poland |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group B
[edit]In Group B, England and Sweden pushed Paraguay into third place after narrow victories over the South Americans. Trinidad and Tobago earned some international respect after a draw with Sweden in their opening game and managing to hold England scoreless for 83 minutes, until goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard sealed a 2–0 win for the Three Lions. Sweden qualified for the knockout rounds after drawing 2–2 with England to maintain their 38-year unbeaten record against them.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Sweden
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 | |
| 3 | Paraguay
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | |
| 4 | Trinidad and Tobago
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
Group C
[edit]Both Argentina and Netherlands qualified from Group C with a game remaining. Argentina topped the group on goal difference, having hammered Serbia and Montenegro 6–0 and beaten Ivory Coast 2–1. The Dutch picked up 1–0 and 2–1 victories over Serbia and Montenegro and Ivory Coast, respectively. Ivory Coast defeated Serbia and Montenegro 3–2 in their final game, in Serbia and Montenegro's last international as the country had dissolved 18 days earlier.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Netherlands
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7 | |
| 3 | Ivory Coast
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Serbia and Montenegro
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 |
| Argentina | 2–1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Serbia and Montenegro | 0–1 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Netherlands | 2–1 | Ivory Coast |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group D
[edit]Portugal coasted through in Group D, picking up the maximum number of points, with Mexico qualifying in second. Iran missed chances against Mexico in their opening 1–3 defeat and were eliminated after losing their match against Portugal. They fought hard against the Portuguese, but lost 2–0. Their last game against Angola ended in 1–1 draw. The Africans had a respectable first World Cup tournament after earning draws with Mexico (0–0) and Iran.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portugal
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Mexico
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 | |
| 3 | Angola
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Iran
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
| Mexico | 3–1 | Iran |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Iran | 1–1 | Angola |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Group E
[edit]In Group E, Italy went through to the Round of 16 conceding just one goal (an own goal) by Cristian Zaccardo in the group phase against the United States. The US bowed out of the tournament after disappointing results against the Czech Republic and Ghana, 0–3 and 1–2, respectively, despite a 1–1 draw (finishing with 9 vs 10 men) against Italy. Tournament debutant Ghana joined Italy in the round of 16, following victories over the Czech Republic and the United States. Daniele De Rossi was suspended for 4 games following his sending-off against the United States.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ghana
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Czech Republic
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 |  United States
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
| Italy | 1–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Ghana | 2–1 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
Group F
[edit]Group F included the reigning World Champions Brazil, Croatia, Japan, and Australia. Playing in their first World Cup for 32 years, Australia came from behind to defeat Japan 3–1, and, despite losing 0–2 to Brazil, a 2–2 draw with Croatia was enough to give the Australians a place in the Round of 16 in a game where two players were sent-off for second bookings and one, erroneously, for a third booking by English referee Graham Poll. The Brazilians won all three games to qualify first in the group. Their 1–0 win against Croatia was through a goal late in the first-half by Kaká. Croatia and Japan went out of the tournament without a single win.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazil
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Australia
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 | |
| 3 | Croatia
|
3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 | |
| 4 | Japan
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 |
Group G
[edit]France only managed a scoreless draw against Switzerland and a 1–1 draw against South Korea. With captain Zinedine Zidane suspended, their 2–0 win against Togo was enough for them to advance to the knockout round. They were joined by the group winners, Switzerland, who defeated South Korea 2–0, and did not concede a goal in the tournament. South Korea won their first World Cup finals match outside their own country in defeating Togo, but four points were not enough to see them through to the round of 16 (the only team for which this was the case), while Togo exited without a point.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland
|
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | France
|
3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 | |
| 3 | South Korea
|
3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 | |
| 4 | Togo
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
| South Korea | 2–1 | Togo |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| France | 0–0 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
| France | 1–1 | South Korea |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Togo | 0–2 | Switzerland |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
Group H
[edit]Spain dominated Group H, picking up the maximum number of points, scoring 8 goals, and conceding only 1. Ukraine, despite being beaten 4–0 by Spain in their first World Cup game, took advantage of the weaker opponents to beat Saudi Arabia 4–0 and scrape past Tunisia 1–0 thanks to a 70th-minute penalty by Andriy Shevchenko, to reach the Round of 16. Saudi Arabia and Tunisia went out of the tournament having 1 point each, thanks to a 2–2 draw against each other.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 9 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Ukraine
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Tunisia
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 1 | |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia
|
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 |
| Tunisia | 2–2 | Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Saudi Arabia | 0–4 | Ukraine |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Saudi Arabia | 0–1 | Spain |
|---|---|---|
| Report |
|
| Ukraine | 1–0 | Tunisia |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
Knockout stage
[edit]The knockout stage involved the sixteen teams that qualified from the group stage of the tournament. There were four rounds of matches, with each round eliminating half of the teams entering that round. The successive rounds were: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and final. There was also a play-off to decide third/fourth place. For each game in the knockout stage, a draw was followed by thirty minutes of extra time (two 15-minute halves); if scores were still level there would be a penalty shoot-out (at least five penalties each, and more if necessary) to determine who progressed to the next round.
Bracket
[edit]Results decided after extra time are indicated by (a.e.t.), and results decided via a penalty shoot-out are indicated by (p).
| Round of 16 | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | |||||||||||
| 24 June – Munich | ||||||||||||||
| Germany | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 30 June – Berlin | ||||||||||||||
| Sweden | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Germany (p) | 1 (4) | |||||||||||||
| 24 June – Leipzig | ||||||||||||||
| Argentina | 1 (2) | |||||||||||||
| Argentina (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||||||
| 4 July – Dortmund | ||||||||||||||
| Mexico | 1 | |||||||||||||
| Germany | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 26 June – Kaiserslautern | ||||||||||||||
| Italy (a.e.t.) | 2 | |||||||||||||
| Italy | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 30 June – Hamburg | ||||||||||||||
| Australia | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Italy | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 26 June – Cologne | ||||||||||||||
| Ukraine | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Switzerland | 0 (0) | |||||||||||||
| 9 July – Berlin | ||||||||||||||
| Ukraine (p) | 0 (3) | |||||||||||||
| Italy (p) | 1 (5) | |||||||||||||
| 25 June – Stuttgart | ||||||||||||||
| France | 1 (3) | |||||||||||||
| England | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 1 July – Gelsenkirchen | ||||||||||||||
| Ecuador | 0 | |||||||||||||
| England | 0 (1) | |||||||||||||
| 25 June – Nuremberg | ||||||||||||||
| Portugal (p) | 0 (3) | |||||||||||||
| Portugal | 1 | |||||||||||||
| 5 July – Munich | ||||||||||||||
| Netherlands | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Portugal | 0 | |||||||||||||
| 27 June – Dortmund | ||||||||||||||
| France | 1 | Third place play-off | ||||||||||||
| Brazil | 3 | |||||||||||||
| 1 July – Frankfurt | 8 July – Stuttgart | |||||||||||||
| Ghana | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Brazil | 0 | Germany | 3 | |||||||||||
| 27 June – Hanover | ||||||||||||||
| France | 1 | Portugal | 1 | |||||||||||
| Spain | 1 | |||||||||||||
| France | 3 | |||||||||||||
Round of 16
[edit]In the second round, conceding two early goals in the first twelve minutes to Germany effectively ended the Swedes' hopes of progressing to the quarter-finals. Argentina struggled to get past Mexico until a Maxi Rodríguez goal in extra time put the Albiceleste in the quarter-finals. Australia's journey ended when Italy were awarded a controversial penalty scored by Francesco Totti, deep into the remaining seconds of the match, after Fabio Grosso went down in the penalty box.[43] The Italians had spent much of the game with only ten men on the field, following a controversial red card shown to centre back Marco Materazzi. In a 0–0 match, described in The Guardian as "the dullest game in World Cup history",[44] Switzerland failed to convert any of their three penalties in the penalty shoot-out against Ukraine to see them exit the competition with an unwanted new record in becoming the first team in a World Cup to fail to convert any penalties in a shootout. Their elimination also meant that they became the first nation to be eliminated from the World Cup without conceding any goals (and indeed the only nation ever to participate in a World Cup finals tournament without conceding a goal). No two teams from the same group qualified for the quarters, all eight teams were from different groups.
England struggled against Ecuador but won 1–0 thanks to a David Beckham free kick. Brazil won 3–0 against Ghana, in a game which included Ronaldo's record 15th World Cup goal. Der Spiegel reported that the match may have been influenced by an Asian betting syndicate.[45] Portugal defeated the Netherlands 1–0. The only goal came courtesy of a Maniche strike in an acrimonious match, which marked a new World Cup record with 16 yellow cards (Portugal: 9, the Netherlands: 7) and 4 players being sent off for a second bookable offence. France came from behind to defeat Spain 3–1 thanks to goals from Franck Ribéry, Patrick Vieira, and Zinedine Zidane.
| Portugal | 1–0 | Netherlands |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
| Switzerland | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Ukraine |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
| 0–3 | ||
Quarter-finals
[edit]Germany and Argentina ended 1–1 after extra time; the hosts edged out the Argentinians 4–2 on penalties to go through to the semi-finals (this was the first time Argentina had lost a World Cup penalty shootout: up until this match, Argentina and Germany had each participated in three penalty shootouts, winning all of them).
In Gelsenkirchen, England faced Portugal in a repeat of their Euro 2004 quarter-final. This time Wayne Rooney was sent off, and Portugal again won on penalties, 3–1 after a 0–0 draw to reach their first World Cup semi-final since the days of Eusébio 40 years earlier. This gave manager Luiz Felipe Scolari his third consecutive tournament quarter-final win over Sven-Göran Eriksson's England, first with Brazil en route to their 2002 World Cup win, then with Portugal in 2004 and 2006.
Italy defeated quarter-final debutants Ukraine 3–0. France eliminated Brazil 1–0 to advance into the semi-finals. Brazil only managed one shot on goal, while Zinedine Zidane's dribbling earned him Man of the Match and his free-kick to Thierry Henry resulted in the winning goal.
Semi-finals
[edit]With Argentina and Brazil eliminated in the quarter-finals, an all-European semi-final line up was completed for only the fourth time (after the 1934, 1966 and 1982 tournaments).
The semi-final between Germany and Italy produced an extra time period that went scoreless until the 118th minute, when Italy scored twice through Fabio Grosso and Alessandro Del Piero, putting an end to Germany's undefeated record in Dortmund.
In the second semi-final, Portugal lost to France 1–0 in Munich. In a repeat of the Euro 1984 and Euro 2000 semi-finals, Portugal were defeated by France, with the decisive goal being a penalty scored by France captain Zinedine Zidane.
Third place play-off
[edit]The hosts got three goals in 20 minutes in the second half with the help of 21-year-old left midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger. His first goal beat the Portuguese goalkeeper Ricardo with pace over his head. Only 4 minutes later, Schweinsteiger's free kick 30 metres from the left of the penalty box, driven low across goal, was connected with Petit's knee to become an own goal for Portugal. The German did not stop, and netted his second goal, which swerved away to the keeper's left, in the 78th minute.
Portugal were strong in possession but lacked punch in attack; unable to convert 57% possession into goals. Pauleta had two clear chances from 15 metres, but both times hit tame shots that did not trouble keeper Oliver Kahn, who was playing in his last match for the German national team. Portugal got a consolation goal with the help of substitute Luís Figo (also playing the final international game of his career), who almost immediately provided the precise distribution needed to unlock the German defence. A cross from the right wing on 88 minutes found fellow substitute Nuno Gomes at the far post, who dived in for the goal. The game ended 3–1, a result which gave the tournament hosts the bronze medals and left Portugal in fourth place.
| Germany | 3–1 | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Final
[edit]The final started with each side scoring within the first 20 minutes. Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring by converting a controversial seventh-minute penalty kick,[46] which glanced off the underside of the crossbar and bounced beyond the goal line before it spun back up, hit the crossbar again and rebounded out of the goal.[47] Marco Materazzi then levelled the scores in the 19th minute following an Andrea Pirlo corner. Both teams had chances to score the winning goal in normal time: Luca Toni hit the crossbar in the 35th minute for Italy (he later had a header disallowed for offside), while France were not awarded a possible second penalty in the 53rd minute when Florent Malouda went down in the box after a tackle from Gianluca Zambrotta. The reverse camera angle later made it clear that there was no penalty and that the referee took the right decision.
At the end of the regulation 90 minutes, the score was still level at 1–1, and the match went into extra time. Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made a potentially game-saving save in extra time when he tipped a Zidane header over the crossbar. Further controversy ensued near the end of extra time, when Zidane head-butted Materazzi in the chest in an off-the-ball incident and was sent off. Extra time produced no further goals and a penalty shootout followed, which Italy won 5–3. France's David Trezeguet, the man who scored the golden goal against Italy in Euro 2000, was the only player not to score his penalty; his spot kick hit the crossbar, landed on the goal line, and went out. It was the first all-European final since Italy's triumph over West Germany in the 1982 World Cup, and the second final, after 1994, to be decided on penalties. It was also Italy's first world title in 24 years, and their fourth overall, making them the second most successful World Cup team ever. The victory also helped Italy top the FIFA World Rankings in February 2007 for the first time since November 1993.
Statistics
[edit]Goalscorers
[edit]Miroslav Klose received the Golden Boot for scoring five goals in the World Cup. In total, 147 goals were scored by 110 players, with four of them credited as own goals.
5 goals
3 goals
2 goals
1 goal
Flávio
Roberto Ayala
Esteban Cambiasso- Lionel Messi
- Javier Saviola
- Carlos Tevez
John Aloisi- Harry Kewell
- Craig Moore
Fred- Gilberto
- Juninho
- Kaká
- Zé Roberto
Rónald Gómez
Niko Kovač- Darijo Srna
Jan Koller
Iván Kaviedes
David Beckham- Joe Cole
- Peter Crouch
Franck Ribéry
Torsten Frings- Philipp Lahm
- Oliver Neuville
Stephen Appiah- Haminu Draman
- Asamoah Gyan
- Sulley Muntari
Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh- Yahya Golmohammadi
Alessandro Del Piero- Alberto Gilardino
- Fabio Grosso
- Vincenzo Iaquinta
- Filippo Inzaghi
- Andrea Pirlo
- Francesco Totti
- Gianluca Zambrotta
Didier Drogba- Bonaventure Kalou
- Bakari Koné
Shunsuke Nakamura- Keiji Tamada
Francisco Fonseca- Rafael Márquez
- Sinha
Ruud van Nistelrooy- Robin van Persie
- Arjen Robben
Nelson Cuevas
Cristiano Ronaldo- Deco
- Nuno Gomes
- Pauleta
- Simão
Sami Al-Jaber- Yasser Al-Qahtani
Saša Ilić- Nikola Žigić
Ahn Jung-hwan- Lee Chun-soo
- Park Ji-sung
Xabi Alonso- Juanito
- Raúl
Marcus Allbäck- Henrik Larsson
- Freddie Ljungberg
Tranquillo Barnetta- Philippe Senderos
Mohamed Kader
Radhi Jaïdi- Ziad Jaziri
- Jawhar Mnari
Maksym Kalynychenko- Serhiy Rebrov
- Andriy Rusol
Clint Dempsey
1 own goal
- Cristian Zaccardo (against the United States)
- Carlos Gamarra (against England)
- Petit (against Germany)
Brent Sancho (against Paraguay)
Awards
[edit]| Golden Boot Winner | Golden Ball Winner | Yashin Award | Best Young Player | FIFA Fair Play Trophy | Most Entertaining Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miroslav Klose
|
Zinedine Zidane
|
Gianluigi Buffon
|
Lukas Podolski
|
Brazil Spain
|
Portugal
|
FIFA's Technical Study Group (TSG) also granted a Man of the Match award to one player in each match. Italy's Andrea Pirlo won the most Man of the Match awards with three in total. Miroslav Klose, Agustín Delgado, Arjen Robben, Zé Roberto, Alexander Frei, Michael Ballack and Patrick Vieira each received two awards.
All-star team
[edit]The All-star team is a squad consisting of the 23 most impressive players at the 2006 World Cup, as selected by FIFA's Technical Study Group. The team was chosen from a shortlist of over 50 players, and was selected based on performances from the second round onwards.[48][49]
| Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Prize money
[edit]A total of CHF332 million was awarded to the 32 teams participating in the tournament. Each team who entered the competition received CHF2 million, with the biggest prize being CHF24.5 million, awarded to the winner of the tournament.[50] Below is a complete list of the prize money allocated:[50][51]
- CHF7 million – To each team eliminated in the group stage (16 teams)
- CHF8.5 million – To each team eliminated in the round of 16 (8 teams)
- CHF11.5 million – To each team eliminated in the quarter-finals (4 teams)
- CHF21.5 million – Fourth placed team and Third placed team
- CHF22.5 million – Runners-up
- CHF24.5 million – Winner
Final standings
[edit]All 32 teams are ranked based on criteria which have been used by FIFA.[52] A penalty shoot-out counts as a draw for both teams.
| R | Team | G | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy |
E | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 17 |
| 2 | France |
G | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 15 |
| 3 | Germany |
A | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 16 |
| 4 | Portugal |
D | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 13 |
| Eliminated in the quarter-finals | ||||||||||
| 5 | Brazil |
F | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 12 |
| 6 | Argentina |
C | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 11 |
| 7 | England |
B | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 11 |
| 8 | Ukraine |
H | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 7 |
| Eliminated in the round of 16 | ||||||||||
| 9 | Spain |
H | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 |
| 10 | Switzerland |
G | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 8 |
| 11 | Netherlands |
C | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 7 |
| 12 | Ecuador |
A | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 |
| 13 | Ghana |
E | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 6 |
| 14 | Sweden |
B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 5 |
| 15 | Mexico |
D | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 4 |
| 16 | Australia |
F | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 4 |
| Eliminated in the group stage | ||||||||||
| 17 | South Korea |
G | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 |
| 18 | Paraguay |
B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 | Ivory Coast |
C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 |
| 20 | Czech Republic |
E | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
| 21 | Poland |
A | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | −2 | 3 |
| 22 | Croatia |
F | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 2 |
| 23 | Angola |
D | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 |
| 24 | Tunisia |
H | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 1 |
| 25 | Iran |
D | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
| United States |
E | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 | |
| 27 | Trinidad and Tobago |
B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
| 28 | Japan |
F | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia |
H | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 | |
| 30 | Togo |
G | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
| 31 | Costa Rica |
A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 |
| 32 | Serbia and Montenegro |
C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 |
Fan Fests
[edit]
In preparation for the tournament, FIFA and the Organising Committee sought a way to accommodate people planning to visit. The experience of past World Cups and public viewing was conceptualized in 4-week-long events for football supporters to meet, board, interact, partake in cultural activities and watch all 64 matches on giant video walls. Since 2004, the details on costs, logistics, safety issues, marketing and broadcasting rights were jointly hammered out by FIFA and the host cities.[53] These public viewing events, known as "Fan Fests" (German: Fanmeile), served an idea to provide football supporters without tickets a legitimate opportunity to partake in the World Cup. Unlike the past tournaments where ticket-less fans were treated as security risks, the World Cup in Germany welcomed all supporters, thus generating positive atmosphere even before the tournament began. Even though security planners and media were sceptical and cautious on the matter of public viewing, the scepticism was cast aside with the beginning of the World Cup.[54]
Fan Fests for the World Cup were set up in 12 host cities and attracted 21 million visitors over the duration of tournament according to German National Tourist Board (FIFA claimed there were over 18 million visitors).[55][56] The Berlin Fan Fest was located at the pedestrianised Straße des 17. Juni, between Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column, with 14 consecutive video walls attracted 9 million fans over the duration of World Cup with nearly a million supporters in each match that Germany played. For the first time in German history, an event scored more visitors than Oktoberfest.[57] The Cologne Fan Fest scored 3 million visitors, followed by 1.9 million in Frankfurt, 1.5 million in Stuttgart, 1.46 million in Hamburg, 1 million in Dortmund and Munich, 500,000 in Nuremberg and Hannover, 471,000 in Leipzig, 350,000 in Gelsenkirchen and 205,000 in Kaiserslautern. Those numbers exceeded all expectations and some of the Host Cities had to expand the Fan Fest areas in the middle of the World Cup.[58] The most popular Fan Fests were located in the inner city areas, making the approach to keep the city centre generally "fan-free" applied by the authorities of Nuremberg ineffective as many football supporters preferred to stay in the picturesque city centre.[54] According to surveys conducted during the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich Fan Fests, 28% of visitors travelled over 100 kilometres to attend the event and up to 84% came there together with friends. Around 21% of foreigners interviewed at Fan Fests visited Germany to see the World Cup without tickets to any match.[59][60] Media coverage of events had an additional positive effect as pictures of fans celebrating in front of giant screens attracted even more visitors from neighbouring European countries who had spontaneously decided to take part in the celebrations at Fan Fests.[54]
Despite minor inconsistencies in planning and execution, the Fan Fest concept was so successful in fact, numerous people later claimed personal responsibility for the invention.[54] The visitors' expectations regarding Fan Fests were fulfilled. During the World Cup, Fan Fests served as modern market squares where communication and interaction strengthen the feeling of community. Out-of-home media reception made the emotional aspect of escape from everyday life more intense for participants. Pictures of football supporters celebrating in front of video walls became a typical illustration of atmosphere in the country, while "Fanmeile" was later picked up as the German Word of the Year.[61] In 2007, FIFA and the 12 host cities received the German Marketing Prize for Sports for the innovative nature and marketing concept of Fan Fests.[62] FIFA and the Host Cities succeeded in creating and comfortable environment for foreign fans as 95% of them surveyed at Fan Fests agreed that it was an unequivocal declaration of international nature of World Cup and not a mere event for Germans.[59] A thought-out implementation of public viewing at such a large-scale football event as the 2006 World Cup became set a precedent. Immediately after the World Cup, FIFA announced that it registered the trademark for Fan Fests, taking over the organisation and marketing and making Fan Fests an integral part of future World Cups.[63]
Locations
[edit]- Berlin — Straße des 17. Juni (between Brandenburg Gate and Victory Column)[64][65]
- Cologne — Heumarkt, Roncalliplatz, Rheinauhafen and Deutzer shipyard[66][65]
- Frankfurt — MainArena (at banks of Main river)[67][65]
- Stuttgart — Schlossplatz[68]
- Hamburg — Heiligengeistfeld[69]
- Dortmund — Friedensplatz[70]
- Munich — Olympiapark[71]
- Nuremberg — Volksfestplatz[72]
- Hannover — Waterlooplatz[73]
- Leipzig — Augustusplatz[74]
- Gelsenkirchen — Glückauf-Kampfbahn[75]
- Kaiserslautern — Stiftsplatz, Barbarossastrasse[65]
Marketing
[edit]Broadcasting
[edit]FIFA, through several companies, sold the rights for the broadcast of 2006 FIFA World Cup to the following broadcasters.
Broadcasting rights
[edit]Broadcasters that were confirmed to be screening some or all of the matches in standard definition are in bold. Broadcasters screening matches in UHF were free-to-air. This was the first FIFA World Cup to be entirely filmed in high-definition, with more regions broadcasting in the widescreen standard.[76]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Arab world | ART | |
| Albania | DigitAlb | |
| Argentina | Telefe, El Trece, El Nueve, América TV, TyC Sports & DirecTV | |
| Armenia | ARMTV | |
| Australia | SBS | |
| Austria | ORF | |
| Azerbaijan | Lider TV | |
| Bangladesh | BTV | |
| Belgium | Dutch: VRT & KANALTWEE |
|
| French: RTBF |
||
| Bhutan | ESPN STAR Sports | |
| Bolivia | Unitel | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | BHRT | |
| Brazil | HDTV: Cable/Satellite (Pay): BandSports & SporTV |
|
| SDTV: Free-to-air: Rede Globo Cable/Satellite (Pay): ESPN Brasil |
||
| Brunei | Satellite (pay): Kristal-Astro (8-live digital satellite channels dedicated exclusively to the 2006 FIFA World Cup) | |
| Bulgaria | BNT | |
| Canada | English: CTV, Rogers Sportsnet & TSN |
|
| French: SRC |
||
| Portuguese & Italian: Omni 1 |
||
| Cantonese & Chinese: Omni 2 |
||
| Chile | Megavisión, TVN, RED Televisión & DirecTV | |
| China | CCTV (64-matches including: 56-matches live on CCTV-5, 4-matches live on CCTV-7 & 4-matches on CCTV-1) | |
| Colombia | Caracol, RCN & DirecTV (all matches) | |
| Costa Rica | Repretel | |
| Cuba | Tele Rebelde | |
| Croatia | HRT | |
| Cyprus | RIK | |
| Czech Republic | Czech Television | |
| Denmark | DR1 & TV 2 | |
| Ecuador | Teleamazonas, RTS & Ecuavisa | |
| Estonia | ETV | |
| Finland | YLE | |
| France | TF1, M6, Canal+, Eurosport France | |
| Georgia | GPB | |
| Germany | HD:Premiere HD SD:ARD, ZDF, RTL & Premiere |
|
| Greece | ERT1 & NET | |
| Guatemala | Canal 3 & Canal 7 | |
| Honduras | TVC | |
| Hong Kong | Free-to-air: ATV & TVB (4-matches including: 1-opening matches, 2-semi finals & 1-finals) Cable (pay): Cable TV Hong Kong (all matches) |
|
| Hungary | RTL Klub & Sport Klub | |
| Iceland | Sýn | |
| India | Free-to-air: Doordarshan Satellite (pay): ESPN STAR Sports |
|
| Indonesia | SCTV (64 matches includes 56 live telecast and 8 taped group stage matches) | [77] |
| Iran | IRIB | |
| Ireland | RTÉ | |
| Israel | Free-to-air: Channel 2 (Reshet), Channel 10 Satellite/Cable (pay): Sport 5, Sport 1 and Sport 2 |
|
| Italy | Free-to-air: RAI (1-matches per day) Satellite (pay): Sky Sport (all matches) |
|
| Japan | Free-to-air: Fuji TV | |
| Kenya | KTN & KBC | |
| North Korea | KBS (KBS 1TV), MBC & SBS | |
| South Korea | KBS (KBS 1TV), MBC & SBS | |
| Latvia | LTV7 & Channel 1 | |
| Lithuania | LRT | |
| Macedonia | MKTV | |
| Malaysia | Free-to-air: Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM1 & RTM2) & NTV7 Satellite (pay): Astro (8-live digital satellite channels dedicated exclusively to the 2006 FIFA World Cup) |
|
| Malta | Melita Sports | |
| Mexico | Free-to-air: TV Azteca & Televisa Cable (pay): Mega Cable and Cablevisión Satellite (pay): SKY México |
|
| Moldova | TRM | |
| Montenegro | TV In | |
| Netherlands | NOS | |
| New Zealand | TV1 & Sky | |
| Norway | NRK & TV2 | |
| Pakistan | PTV | |
| Panama | Channel 4 | |
| Paraguay | SNT | |
| Peru | ATV (Channel 9) | |
| Philippines | RPN, SportsPlus | |
| Poland | Polsat and TVP | |
| Portugal | RTP, SIC, Sport TV | [78][79][80][81] |
| Puerto Rico | Univision Puerto Rico, ABC & ESPN | |
| Romania | RTV | |
| Russia | Perviy Kanal & VGTRK | |
| Middle East and North Africa | ART & (Al Riyadiah, only ln Saudi Arabia) | |
| Serbia | PTC, RTK | |
| Singapore | Free-to-air: MediaCorp TV Channel 5 (4-matches including: 1-opening matches, 2-semi finals & 1-finals) Cable (pay): StarHub Cable Television (all matches) |
|
| Slovakia | STV | |
| Slovenia | RTV & Kanal A | |
| South Africa | Free-to-air: SABC Satellite (pay): Super Sport |
|
| Spain | la Sexta, Cuatro TV and Digital+ | |
| Sweden | SVT & TV4 | |
| Switzerland | German: SF2 | |
| French: TSR2 | ||
| Italian: TSI2 | ||
| Taiwan | Era Television (3-cable channels for coverage) | |
| Thailand | Free-to-air: Channel 3, Channel 5, Channel 7, Channel 9, Channel 11 & ITV (all matches available on non-subscription television) | |
| Trinidad and Tobago: | CCN TV6 | |
| Turkey | Kanal 1 | |
| Ukraine | Inter & ICTV | |
| United Kingdom and territories
|
HD: BBC HD & ITV HD |
|
| SD: BBC & ITV |
||
| United States and territories
|
English: ABC, ESPN & ESPN2 |
|
| Spanish: Univision & TeleFutura |
||
| German: Setanta Sports |
||
| French: TV5Monde |
||
| Portuguese: RBTI & Rede Globo |
||
| Persian: Tapesh TV |
||
| Arabic: ART |
||
| Japanese: TV Japan |
||
| Korean: KBS |
||
| Uruguay | Teledoce, Monte Carlo TV, Canal 10, DirecTV | |
| Venezuela | Venevisión, RCTV, Meridiano Televisión & DirecTV | |
| Vietnam | FPT, VTV, HTV & VTC |
Sponsorship
[edit]
The sponsors of the 2006 World Cup consisted of 15 FIFA Partners.[82]
| FIFA partners | FIFA partners | FIFA partners |
|---|---|---|
Symbols
[edit]Mascot
[edit]The official mascot of this World Cup was "Goleo VI"[106]
Match ball
[edit]The official match ball was "Teamgeist", manufactured by Adidas.[107]
Music
[edit]The official song was "The Time of Our Lives".[108] The official anthem was "Zeit dass sich was dreht (Celebrate The Day)".
Evaluation of Germany as host nation
[edit]
FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated the organization of the tournament was the best in history and that Germany had a welcoming public.[109] Through the many fanfests and large-screen broadcasts the feeling of a four-week national festival developed, in which much of the population took part.
During the first weeks of the tournament, there was concerned discussion about the wide display of the German national flag and the German national colours on houses, vehicles and clothing.[110] Numerous national and international observers from media, society and politics considered that this signified not only great support for the German football team, but even a "new patriotism".[citation needed] This continued a development already observed during the 2002 FIFA World Cup.[111] A study by the University of Marburg suggested a slight rise in national pride.[112] However, sporadic attempts of far right organisations to use the tournament as a platform for their propaganda remained unsuccessful.[113]
As the German national football team contributed to arousing this previously undeclared enthusiasm and euphoria in Germany over a period of weeks, the then German President Horst Köhler presented the national players on 14 August 2006 with the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf), the highest sports award in Germany. The team's trainer, Jürgen Klinsmann, in February 2007 was furthermore awarded the Bundesverdienstkreuz, not least for his reformed methods of modern training and playing methods, in which he persevered despite harsh criticism. Nevertheless, Klinsmann announced after the tournament that he would not extend his contract as trainer of the national team, since he felt completely burned-out and wished to spend more time with his family in California. The German Football Association (DFB) on the same day named as Klinsmann's successor his assistant trainer Joachim Löw, since in the opinion of the DFB leadership he would best continue Klinsmann's work and training methods.
According to a representative survey taken in Trier by the European Tourism Institute (ETI), 96% of the German population considered that Germany was a good host during the World Cup. Additionally 93% of those interviewed found the international football fans to be agreeable.[114]
See also
[edit]
- 2006 FIFA World Cup:
- Leeuwenhosen controversy
- Strangers, a 2007 film which takes place during the 2006 World Cup
- Deutschland. Ein Sommermärchen, a 2006 documentary film recording the Germany national team from boot camp in Sardegna to third place play-off against Portugal
- Adidas Teamgeist
- Voices from the FIFA World Cup
- Several countries celebrated this major event with the minting of specially high value commemorative coins. Among them is the Belgian 20 euro Germany 2006 FIFA World Cup Coin. The obverse of the coin shows a footballer with a ball, right above them '2006 FIFA World Cup Germany' can be clearly seen.
- 2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee
- Colpo grosso a Berlino
- 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, also held in Germany
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ As hosts, Germany were automatically assigned to the first position in Group A.
References
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External links
[edit]
- 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany, FIFA.com
- FIFA Technical Report (Part 1) and (Part 2)
- RSSSF Archive of finals
- Official FIFA World Cup site Archived 15 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- Germany 2006 – Home
- "FIFAworldcup.com – The Official Site of FIFA World Cup". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 23 February 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2006 FIFA World Cup finalists | |
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| Champions | |
| Runners-up | |
| Third place | |
| Fourth place | |
| Quarter-finals | |
| Round of 16 | |
| Group stage | |
Fédération internationale de football association (FIFA) | |
| Tournaments |
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| Qualification | |
| Finals | |
| Squads | |
| Final draw | |
| Broadcasters | |
| Bids | |
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| Team appearances | |
| Other records |
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| Miscellaneous | |
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2006 FIFA World Cup
View on GrokipediaHost Selection
Bidding Process
The bidding process for hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup was initiated by FIFA in the mid-1990s, with member associations invited to submit preliminary dossiers outlining their capabilities, including stadium infrastructure, transportation networks, and government guarantees. By 1998, formal bids had been received from England, Germany, Morocco, and South Africa, following Brazil's withdrawal of its candidacy prior to the final evaluation stage.[8] Germany's bid, led by former national team captain Franz Beckenbauer, proposed utilizing 12 existing or upgraded stadiums across cities such as Berlin, Munich, and Dortmund, emphasizing the country's advanced transport systems and experience from hosting major events like the 1974 World Cup.[8][9] South Africa's bid highlighted post-apartheid national unity and proposed new and renovated venues, though it faced scrutiny over security concerns and logistical readiness.[10] England's proposal centered on 10 Premier League stadiums including Wembley and Old Trafford, while Morocco aimed to leverage its proximity to Europe with eight venues.[8] FIFA's evaluation process involved site inspections and technical assessments by a bid evaluation task force, focusing on criteria such as venue capacity (minimum 40,000 seats for group matches, 60,000 for semifinals), accommodation availability, and legacy benefits for football development. The task force reports, presented to the FIFA Executive Committee, rated Germany's bid highly for its comprehensive infrastructure but noted potential challenges in fan mobilization compared to more passionate bids like South Africa's. Voting occurred secretly among the 24-member Executive Committee at the 50th FIFA Congress on 6 July 2000 in Zürich, Switzerland. In the first round, Germany received 10 votes, South Africa 6, England 5, and Morocco 3, eliminating Morocco. In the second round, Germany and South Africa each received 11 votes, while England received 2, eliminating England.[11][8] In the decisive final round, Germany prevailed with 12 votes to South Africa's 11, accompanied by one abstention, marking a narrow victory despite South Africa's strong continental support and FIFA president Sepp Blatter's reported preference for an African host as a step toward global equity. The outcome disappointed South Africa, which argued its bid represented a historic opportunity for the continent, but FIFA cited Germany's superior technical readiness as the determining factor.[11][10][12] This selection process underscored FIFA's emphasis on established infrastructure over emerging-market enthusiasm, though the close margin fueled debates on voting influences within the opaque committee structure.[11]Corruption Allegations
The German Football Association (DFB) successfully bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup, defeating South Africa in a 12-11 vote by the FIFA Executive Committee on July 6, 2000.[9] Allegations of corruption in this process emerged prominently in October 2015, amid broader FIFA scandals, when German magazine Der Spiegel published documents suggesting the German bid committee established a slush fund to influence votes.[13] [14] The fund, reportedly totaling around 10.3 million Swiss francs contributed secretly by Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus, allegedly financed payments to FIFA officials from Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean to secure support for Germany's candidacy.[13] [15] Central to the claims was a 6.7 million euro payment transferred to FIFA in April 2005, purportedly for "consulting services" related to the tournament's organization, but suspected by investigators of originating from the earlier slush fund as hush money or vote-buying repayments.[16] [17] Franz Beckenbauer, who led the bid as head of the organizational committee, denied any impropriety, asserting the funds were legitimate loans repaid via Adidas and used for non-vote-related purposes, such as subsidies for South African development projects or general consulting.[9] [18] Then-DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach resigned in November 2015 following these revelations, though he maintained the payment was transparently documented and not linked to bribery.[19] FIFA's ethics committee launched an investigation in March 2016 into Beckenbauer, former DFB general secretary Horst R. Schmidt, and other officials involved in the bid, focusing on potential breaches of conduct rules.[9] [20] Swiss authorities also opened a criminal probe in September 2016 against Beckenbauer and three associates for suspected misconduct in the bidding process.[21] An internal DFB-commissioned review in March 2016 concluded there was no evidence of bribery or vote manipulation, attributing the payments to legitimate expenses, though it criticized a lack of transparency.[22] German prosecutors pursued related fraud and tax evasion charges against DFB figures, including Niersbach and Theo Zwanziger, leading to convictions in 2019 for embezzlement tied to the 2005 payment's handling, but not for direct bid corruption.[16] In June 2025, the DFB was fined over 20 million euros by German tax authorities for evading taxes on 2006-related funds, exacerbating scrutiny but stopping short of proving electoral tampering.[17] FIFA closed its ethics case against Beckenbauer and associates in February 2021 due to the statute of limitations expiring without sufficient evidence of violations.[20] [23] A Swiss trial scheduled for payments linked to the bid was delayed by COVID-19 and later refocused on tax issues rather than outright bribery.[24] While no definitive proof of systematic vote-buying has led to FIFA sanctions or bid revocation, the allegations persist in public discourse, fueled by documents indicating off-the-books transactions and FIFA's historical pattern of executive graft, as exposed in concurrent U.S. and Swiss indictments of other officials. [25] Critics, including transparency advocates, argue the closures reflect institutional reluctance to revisit past decisions, though defenders point to the absence of smoking-gun evidence after multiple probes.[26]Qualification
Process and Criteria
FIFA allocated 31 qualification places for the 2006 tournament among its six continental confederations, with host nation Germany automatically qualifying to bring the total to 32 teams. UEFA received 13 spots in addition to the host place, CAF was assigned 5 direct slots, CONMEBOL 4 direct slots plus one inter-confederation play-off opportunity, AFC 4 direct slots plus one play-off, CONCACAF 3 direct slots plus one play-off, and OFC 1 play-off spot against CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team.[27] This distribution reflected FIFA's assessment of confederation strength based on historical performance in prior World Cups and the number of affiliated member associations, prioritizing competitive balance while maintaining traditional advantages for UEFA and CONMEBOL.[28] Qualification matches adhered to standard FIFA regulations, including 90-minute durations, three points for a win, one for a draw, and tie-breaking criteria such as goal difference, total goals scored, head-to-head results, and, if necessary, play-offs or drawing of lots. Each confederation managed its own tournament format, typically involving preliminary rounds for lower-ranked teams followed by group stages and sometimes knockouts, with all games scheduled as home-and-away fixtures to ensure fairness. The overall process spanned from October 2003 to November 2005, allowing teams sufficient preparation time while minimizing disruptions to domestic leagues.[29] In UEFA, 51 teams excluding the host competed in eight groups—five with six teams and three with seven—where group winners advanced directly, and the eight runners-up were ranked by results excluding matches against bottom teams, with the top eight entering a second-round play-off draw yielding four additional qualifiers. CONMEBOL's 10 teams contested a single double round-robin league, with the top four securing direct entry and fifth place proceeding to a two-legged play-off against OFC's champion.[30] CAF featured an initial round for 12 lower-seeded teams followed by five groups of six, where group winners qualified directly. AFC divided its 20 entrants into three preliminary groups and one of four, with survivors joining seeded teams in two final groups of seven and six, respectively, awarding four direct spots and a play-off for fifth. CONCACAF eliminated teams through semi-final groups and a final six-team round-robin for three direct berths plus a play-off, while OFC conducted group stages culminating in a final between top nations for the CONMEBOL play-off. These formats emphasized endurance and consistency, with inter-confederation play-offs held in November 2005 resolving the final spots via aggregate score over two legs.[31]Qualified Teams
The 2006 FIFA World Cup featured 32 qualified teams, comprising the host nation Germany and 31 others selected through continental qualification tournaments spanning from 2003 to late 2005.[32] Slots were allocated as follows: UEFA received 14 (including the host), CAF 5, CONMEBOL 4, AFC 4, CONCACAF 4 (three direct plus one via inter-confederation playoff), and OFC 1 (via inter-confederation playoff).[33] Five teams made their debut: Angola, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, and Australia (competing under OFC for the first and only time before switching to AFC).[32] Teams qualified primarily as group winners or via playoffs within their confederations, with final spots determined by October 2005 matches.[33]| Confederation | Teams |
|---|---|
| UEFA (Europe) | Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany (host), Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine[34] |
| CAF (Africa) | Angola, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Tunisia[35] |
| CONMEBOL (South America) | Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay[36] |
| AFC (Asia) | Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea[37] |
| CONCACAF (North/Central America & Caribbean) | Costa Rica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, United States[37] |
| OFC (Oceania) | Australia[38] |
Venues and Logistics
Stadiums and Venues
The 2006 FIFA World Cup featured twelve stadiums across twelve host cities in Germany, selected to meet FIFA's stipulation of at least 40,000 all-seater capacity per venue to accommodate group stage through final matches.[39] These facilities, spanning from historic sites renovated for modern standards to purpose-built arenas, collectively hosted 64 matches, with upgrades emphasizing safety, accessibility, and broadcast technology; total stadium renovation and construction costs reached approximately 1.4 billion euros.[40] Four venues—Berlin, Munich, Dortmund, and Stuttgart—each staged six fixtures, including knockout rounds, while the remaining eight handled five matches apiece.[41]| Venue | City | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Olympiastadion | Berlin | 72,000 [39] |
| FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich (Allianz Arena) | Munich | 66,000 [39] |
| FIFA World Cup Stadium, Dortmund (Westfalenstadion) | Dortmund | 65,000 [39] |
| Mercedes-Benz Arena (Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion) | Stuttgart | 54,000 [39] |
| Veltins-Arena | Gelsenkirchen | 53,000 [39] |
| AOL Arena (FIFA World Cup Stadium, Hamburg) | Hamburg | 51,000 [39] |
| FIFA World Cup Stadium, Frankfurt (Waldstadion) | Frankfurt | 48,000 [39] |
| FIFA World Cup Stadium, Cologne (RheinEnergie Stadion) | Cologne | 45,000 [39] |
| FIFA World Cup Stadium, Hanover (AWD-Arena) | Hanover | 44,000 [39] |
| Zentralstadion | Leipzig | 44,000 [39] |
| Fritz-Walter-Stadion | Kaiserslautern | 43,000 [39] |
| Frankenstadion (Arena Nürnberg) | Nuremberg | 41,000 [39] |
Team Base Camps
Base camps for the 32 participating national teams consisted of designated hotels and associated training grounds in Germany, serving as centralized hubs for rest, preparation, and recovery throughout the tournament from June 9 to July 9, 2006. These facilities were selected to meet FIFA criteria, including a minimum of 40 guest rooms, conference spaces for team meetings, customized nutrition and medical services, and proximate high-quality pitches to facilitate daily training while minimizing logistical disruptions. The German organizing committee pre-vetted and promoted 110 such locations nationwide, allowing teams to finalize choices by March 2006 based on factors like isolation from public access, terrain suitability for acclimatization, and travel efficiency to assigned match stadiums.[45] Team preferences skewed toward western Germany for its denser infrastructure and milder climate, with only two squads—the host Germany and Ukraine—opting for eastern sites, reflecting lower demand for facilities in the former East German states despite available options.[46] This distribution aligned with broader tournament logistics, as 10 of the 12 host cities lay in the west, enabling shorter bus or short-haul flights to venues and reducing exposure to variable eastern weather patterns. Base camps also incorporated security perimeters and media restrictions to maintain focus, though some, like England's, drew attention for their opulent amenities amid scrutiny of player distractions. Notable examples included England's selection of the Schlosshotel Bühlerhöhe, a five-star castle hotel in the Black Forest near Baden-Baden, chosen for its panoramic views, spa treatments, and seclusion to foster team cohesion ahead of group matches in Stuttgart, Cologne, and Nuremberg.[47] Such choices underscored causal priorities: empirical advantages in recovery environments over prestige, as evidenced by post-tournament analyses linking base camp quality to injury rates and performance consistency, though no direct correlations were universally proven across teams.Fan Zones and Fan Fests
The FIFA Fan Fest™ programme, introduced for the first time during the 2006 FIFA World Cup hosted in Germany, consisted of official public viewing events held in the tournament's 12 host cities: Berlin, Dortmund, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hanover, Cologne, Leipzig, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart, and Kaiserslautern.[48] These events featured large outdoor screens for live match broadcasts, live music performances, interactive football games, food and beverage stalls, and opportunities for fans from different nations to socialize, aligning with the tournament's slogan "A time to make friends™".[49] Entry was free, with sites designed as safe, family-friendly spaces subsidized in part by FIFA sponsors including Anheuser-Busch InBev, Coca-Cola, and others, distinguishing them from unofficial gatherings.[50] Attendance reached over 18 million visitors across the sites from June 9 to July 9, 2006, far exceeding expectations and demonstrating the programme's appeal to ticketless fans.[48] In Leipzig, for instance, approximately 800,000 attendees visited the Fan Fest, compared to just 215,000 match ticket holders in the city, highlighting how these zones absorbed overflow crowds and extended the event's reach beyond stadium capacities.[49] By late June, cumulative figures had already surpassed 11 million, with celebrations characterized by peaceful, joyful atmospheres free of significant security disruptions despite large multinational crowds.[51] Fan Fests played a key role in enhancing fan engagement and Germany's hosting image, serving as controlled alternatives to potentially chaotic unofficial viewings while generating positive economic impacts through localized spending on concessions and merchandise.[49] The model's success, evidenced by repeat high attendance in subsequent World Cups, stemmed from its emphasis on accessible, high-quality entertainment that mirrored stadium experiences without the exclusivity of tickets.[48]Match Officials
Selection and Appointments
The FIFA Referees Committee selected 23 referees from 21 different countries to officiate matches at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a decision finalized at a meeting on 31 March 2006. These referees were chosen from a shortlist of 44 candidates who had participated in a preparatory workshop and undergone rigorous testing in late 2005, including fitness evaluations, technical assessments, and performance reviews from international fixtures.[52][53][54] Assistant referees, numbering around 70 in the primary pool, followed a parallel selection process emphasizing accuracy in offside decisions, endurance, and synergy with lead referees, drawn from nominations by FIFA's six confederations. For the first time, FIFA introduced a support and development group comprising 5 reserve referees and 10 reserve assistant referees to replace any officials unable to continue due to injury or underperformance. Criteria across all roles prioritized referees aged typically 35-43 with proven records in continental competitions and qualifiers, excluding those from host nation Germany to minimize perceived bias, though established figures like Markus Merk were included for non-host matches.[52][55] Match appointments were handled by FIFA's refereeing department, with lead referees and their crews announced three days prior to each fixture to allow preparation while maintaining unpredictability. Assignments considered recent form, geographical balance, and avoidance of national team conflicts, guided by an eight-point directive from FIFA emphasizing consistent card application, game flow, and simulation penalties. During the tournament, the Referees Committee monitored performances via video analysis and assessor reports, retaining only top performers beyond the group stage—such as after a 28 June 2006 meeting that culled underperformers—and ultimately appointing Argentina's Horacio Elizondo, who had officiated the opening match, for the final on 9 July.[56][57][58]Participating Teams
Squad Composition
Each qualified national association assembled a squad of 23 players for the final competition, consisting of three goalkeepers and 20 outfield players, with players numbered from 1 to 23 and number 1 reserved exclusively for a goalkeeper.[59] Goalkeepers were required to wear distinguishing colors contrasting with those of the field players.[59] The final squad lists were submitted to FIFA at least 14 days prior to the opening match on 9 June 2006.[59] Provisional squads, often ranging from 23 to 35 players, were commonly announced by associations in advance to facilitate selection through preparatory matches and training. Once finalized, squads were binding except in cases of serious injury preventing participation; such replacements required certification from the FIFA Sports Medical Committee and could be made up to 24 hours before a team's first match.[59] Players had to meet FIFA eligibility criteria, including citizenship under the association's jurisdiction as defined in the FIFA Statutes.[59]Notable Players and Preparations
National teams intensified preparations in the months leading to the tournament, focusing on physical conditioning, tactical simulations, and friendly matches to build cohesion. Host nation Germany, coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, integrated American fitness training techniques and sports psychology to boost player resilience and performance, amid initial domestic criticism of the unconventional approach.[60][61] Italy's squad, under Marcello Lippi, navigated the emerging Calciopoli scandal involving alleged match-fixing in Serie A—investigations that intensified in May 2006—by channeling external pressures into team unity during training camps.[62][6] Defending champions Brazil emphasized offensive drills in pre-tournament sessions, leveraging their star-laden roster despite fitness concerns for key forwards.[63] Standout performers included Germany's Miroslav Klose, who topped the scoring charts with five goals, primarily via headers, contributing to the host's bronze medal finish.[64] France's Zinedine Zidane earned the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player for his visionary passing and three goals, though his career ended controversially with a headbutt ejection in the final.[65] Italy's captain Fabio Cannavaro received the Silver Ball for orchestrating a defense that conceded just two goals en route to the title, while teammate Gianluigi Buffon was recognized as the top goalkeeper for his shot-stopping prowess.[66] Germany's Lukas Podolski, aged 21, secured the Best Young Player award with three goals, showcasing explosive finishing.[67] Other notable contributions came from versatile defenders like Germany's Philipp Lahm, who excelled at left-back with precise crosses and recoveries, and France's Lilian Thuram, whose experience stabilized the backline in the knockout stages.[65] Brazil's Ronaldo scored three goals to reach a record 15 World Cup tallies overall, though the team's early exit highlighted tactical imbalances despite individual brilliance from Ronaldinho.[68]| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
| Multiple (e.g., Zidane, Henry, Podolski) | Various | 3 |
Tournament Format
Seeding and Group Draw
The seeded teams for the group stage were determined using a points-based system that weighted performances in the previous three FIFA World Cup tournaments (with ratios of 3:2:1 for the most recent to the oldest), results from the two most recent continental championships, and FIFA World Rankings over the prior three years.[69] This method aimed to place the strongest qualifiers as group heads to balance competition, with host nation Germany automatically seeded in position A. The eight Pot 1 teams were: Germany, Brazil, England, Spain, Mexico, France, Argentina, and Italy.[70] To limit the number of European teams per group to no more than two, the remaining nine UEFA qualifiers were split: eight into Pot 2 (Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine) and the lowest-ranked, Serbia and Montenegro, into Pot 4.[71] Pot 3 consisted of the five African qualifiers (Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Tunisia), plus Australia, Ecuador, and Paraguay. Pot 4 included the four Asian teams (Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea), three remaining CONCACAF teams (Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, United States), and Serbia and Montenegro.[72]| Pot | Teams |
|---|---|
| Pot 1 (Seeds) | Germany, Brazil, England, Spain, Mexico, France, Argentina, Italy |
| Pot 2 (UEFA) | Croatia, Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine |
| Pot 3 | Angola, Australia, Ecuador, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Paraguay, Togo, Tunisia |
| Pot 4 | Costa Rica, Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia and Montenegro, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, United States |
Competition Rules and Ranking
The 2006 FIFA World Cup consisted of a group stage followed by a knockout stage, with 32 qualified teams divided into eight groups of four teams each. In the group stage, teams competed in a single round-robin format, playing three matches apiece, with three points awarded for a win, one point for a draw, and zero points for a loss. The top two teams from each group advanced to the round of 16 in the knockout stage, yielding 16 teams total.[59] Teams were ranked within their groups primarily by total points accumulated. Ties were broken sequentially by: goal difference across all group matches; total goals scored in all group matches; points earned in head-to-head matches among tied teams; goal difference in those head-to-head matches; goals scored in those head-to-head matches; and, as a final resort, drawing of lots conducted by the FIFA Organising Committee for the 2006 World Cup.[59][75] The knockout stage employed a single-elimination bracket, progressing through the round of 16, quarter-finals, and semi-finals to determine the finalists. A separate match for third place was held between the two semi-final losers. All knockout matches concluding in a draw after 90 minutes proceeded to two 15-minute extra-time periods (without sudden-death provisions), followed by a penalty shootout if scores remained level.[59]Group Stage
Group A
Group A featured host nation Germany, UEFA qualifiers Poland, CONMEBOL representatives Ecuador, and CONCACAF participant Costa Rica.[76] The matches occurred from 9 to 20 June 2006 across venues in Munich, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund, Hamburg, Berlin, and Hanover. Germany secured first place with three victories, advancing to the knockout stage alongside Ecuador, who finished second with two wins. Poland earned third place with one victory, while Costa Rica finished last without points.[77][78] The opening match on 9 June saw Germany defeat Costa Rica 4–2 at Allianz Arena in Munich before 66,000 spectators. Philipp Lahm scored in the 6th minute, Miroslav Klose added goals in the 17th and 61st minutes, and Torsten Frings netted in the 87th; Paulo Wanchope replied for Costa Rica in the 12th and 73rd minutes.[78][79][80] Later that day, Ecuador upset Poland 2–0 at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen with 52,000 in attendance, goals from Carlos Tenorio in the 80th minute and Agustín Delgado in stoppage time.[81][82] On 14 June, Germany edged Poland 2–1 at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund. Lukas Podolski opened the scoring in the 12th minute, and David Odonkor added a stoppage-time winner in the 91st; Euzebiusz Smolarek equalized for Poland in the 57th.[83][84] The following day, Ecuador beat Costa Rica 3–0 at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg before 50,000 fans, with Tenorio scoring in the 8th minute, Delgado in the 54th, and Iván Kaviedes in the 92nd.[85][86] The final matches on 20 June confirmed the standings. Germany topped Ecuador 3–0 at Olympiastadion in Berlin with 72,000 attendees, Klose scoring in the 4th and 45th minutes and Podolski in the 57th.[87][88] In Hanover's Niedersachsenstadion, Poland defeated Costa Rica 2–1 before 43,000, both goals by Bartosz Bosacki in the 57th and 64th minutes after Rónald Gómez's 25th-minute strike for Costa Rica.[89][90][91]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 |
| 2 | Ecuador | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 |
| 3 | Poland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 3 |
| 4 | Costa Rica | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | −6 | 0 |
Group B
Group B featured England, Paraguay, Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago.[93] On 10 June 2006, England defeated Paraguay 1–0 at the Commerzbank Arena in Frankfurt, with the sole goal coming from an own goal by Carlos Gamarra in the 3rd minute off a David Beckham free kick.[94] [95] In the concurrent match at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, Trinidad and Tobago held Sweden to a 0–0 draw despite playing with 10 men after defender Avery John received a red card in the 21st minute.[96] On 15 June, England secured a 2–0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg, with goals from Peter Crouch in the 83rd minute and Steven Gerrard in the 90+1st minute.[97] [98] Sweden edged Paraguay 1–0 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, courtesy of Freddie Ljungberg's 89th-minute strike.[99] The final matches occurred on 20 June. Paraguay beat Trinidad and Tobago 2–0 at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, with an own goal by Brent Sancho in the 25th minute and a goal from Nelson Cuevas in the 86th minute.[100] Sweden and England drew 2–2 at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, with England goals from Joe Cole in the 59th minute and Gerrard in the 85th minute, and Sweden replies from Marcus Allbäck in the 91st minute and Henrik Larsson in the 90+1st minute.[101] [102]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 7 |
| 2 | Sweden | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 5 |
| 3 | Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 | 1 |
Group C
Group C featured Argentina, the Netherlands, Côte d'Ivoire, and Serbia and Montenegro, with the top two teams qualifying for the knockout stage. Argentina and the Netherlands both finished with seven points, but Argentina advanced as group winner due to a superior goal difference of +7 compared to the Netherlands' +2. Côte d'Ivoire earned three points with a single victory, while Serbia and Montenegro were eliminated without a point. The group produced 18 goals across six matches, highlighted by Argentina's dominant 6–0 rout of Serbia and Montenegro.[104][105]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 7 |
| 2 | Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 7 |
| 3 | Côte d'Ivoire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 3 |
| 4 | Serbia and Montenegro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 |
Group D
Group D featured Portugal, Mexico, Angola, and Iran, with matches played from 11 to 21 June 2006 across venues in Nuremberg, Cologne, Hanover, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, and Leipzig.[113] Portugal dominated the group, securing advancement to the knockout stage as winners with three victories, while Mexico progressed as runners-up despite a final-day loss. Angola achieved a notable goalless draw against Mexico but ended third after losses and a late draw with Iran, who finished bottom following defeats in their opening two fixtures.[114] On 11 June, Mexico opened with a 3–1 victory over Iran at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg, where Sinha scored in the 35th minute, followed by Pavel Pardo's penalty in the 76th and Jared Borgetti's tap-in in the 79th; Iran replied through Yahya Golmohammadi in the 54th.[115] Later that day in Cologne, Angola fell 0–1 to Portugal at the RheinEnergieStadion, with Pedro Pauleta netting an early goal in the 4th minute from a Luis Figo cross, marking Angola's debut World Cup appearance against the former colonial power. The second round of matches began on 16 June with Mexico held to a 0–0 draw by Angola at the FIFA WM Stadion in Hanover; Angola's André Luís was sent off in the 79th minute for a second yellow card, but João Ricardo's goalkeeping preserved the point against Mexico's pressure.[116] The following day, Portugal defeated Iran 2–0 in Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena, as Deco struck in the 63rd minute and Cristiano Ronaldo converted a penalty in the 80th after a handball by Mohammad Nosrati.[117] The group concluded on 21 June, with concurrent matches determining progression. Portugal beat Mexico 2–1 at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, goals from Maniche in the 6th and Simão Sabrosa in the 60th sandwiching Tigão's (José Fonseca) header in the 29th; Mexico's Omar Bravo missed a second-half penalty, and Luis Pérez was red-carded late.[118] Simultaneously in Leipzig, Iran drew 1–1 with Angola, Flávio scoring for the Africans in the 60th before Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh equalized for Iran in the 75th via a header from a corner.[119] Portugal advanced to face the Netherlands in the round of 16, while Mexico met Argentina. Angola's draw against Mexico represented a strong showing for the debutants, though they exited, as did Iran, who managed only one point despite competitive displays.[120]Group E
Group E featured Italy, the Czech Republic, the United States, and Ghana, with matches held from 12 to 23 June 2006 across venues in Hanover, Nuremberg, Cologne, and Leipzig.[121][122] Italy, burdened by the ongoing Calciopoli match-fixing scandal involving several clubs but not directly impacting the national team, started strongly and ultimately topped the group, advancing to the round of 16 alongside Ghana, whose debut appearance yielded an upset qualification. The Czech Republic and United States were eliminated, with the former hampered by injuries to key players and the latter unable to recover from an opening defeat.[6] The opening fixtures on 12 June saw Italy defeat Ghana 2–0 at the AWD-Arena in Hanover. Andrea Pirlo scored the first goal in the 40th minute from a corner kick converted via a header setup, followed by Vincenzo Iaquinta's low shot in the 83rd minute after Ghana's defense fatigued. Ghana, coached by Ratomir Dujković, showed resilience with organized pressing but lacked finishing, managing only three shots on target despite possessing the ball for periods. Concurrently, the Czech Republic overwhelmed the United States 3–0 at the Frankenstadion in Nuremberg, with Karel Poborský opening in the 5th minute via a deflected cross, Pavel Nedvěd assisting Tomáš Rosický's volley in the 36th, and Marek Heinze adding a third in the 76th; U.S. goalkeeper Kasey Keller was criticized for errors, and the team suffered from early injuries.[121][123][124] On 17 June, Italy drew 1–1 with the United States at the Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, where Christian Vieri's 22nd-minute header for the U.S. was matched by Alberto Gilardino's equalizer in the 85th after a defensive lapse; Italy dominated possession at 62% but struggled to convert, while the U.S., under Bruce Arena, earned a point through disciplined defending despite playing with 10 men briefly after Pablo Mastroeni's red card. Ghana then upset the Czech Republic 2–1 at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne, with goals from Asamoah Gyan in the 57th and Sulley Muntari in the 72nd overpowering Jan Koller's 2nd-minute header; Czech coach Karel Brückner later cited fatigue and injuries, including to Nedvěd who withdrew pre-tournament, as factors in the collapse.[122] The final group match on 23 June pitted Ghana against the United States at the Zentralstadion in Leipzig, ending 2–1 to Ghana: Clint Dempsey scored for the U.S. in the 22nd, but Gyan equalized from a penalty in the 53rd and Richard Kingson preserved the lead with saves despite a late disallowed U.S. goal; this result confirmed Ghana's advancement on goal difference over the Czech Republic, who rested players in a 0–2 loss to Italy where Fabio Grosso and Filippo Inzaghi scored in the 59th and 87th minutes, respectively, at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Italy's victory ensured they topped the group, avoiding a tougher knockout path.[122]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 7 |
| 2 | Ghana | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 3 |
| 4 | United States | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | −4 | 1 |
Group F
Group F comprised Brazil as the defending champions from 2002, Croatia, Japan, and Australia, the latter having advanced through inter-confederation playoffs against Uruguay.[76] Brazil dominated proceedings, securing maximum points from three victories and advancing as group winners to face Ghana in the round of 16.[127] Australia progressed as runners-up after a vital late draw against Croatia, marking their first World Cup knockout stage appearance since 1934. Croatia and Japan were eliminated, with the former hampered by a failure to convert draws into wins and the latter struggling offensively despite an early lead in their final match.[128] The group standings were as follows: Qualification was determined by points, with tiebreakers on goal difference; Australia edged Croatia on superior goal difference after both finished with four points initially but Croatia's earlier results limited them to two.[129][130] The opening match on 12 June 2006 saw Australia defeat Japan 3–1 at Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, with Tim Cahill scoring twice and Josip Skoko adding one, while Shunsuke Nakamura replied for Japan; this result gave Australia an early advantage and highlighted Japan's defensive vulnerabilities.[131] On 13 June, Brazil edged Croatia 1–0 at Olympiastadion in Berlin, courtesy of Kaká's 39th-minute strike, as Croatia's attack, led by Dado Pršo, failed to break through Brazil's defense anchored by Lúcio and Juan. On 18 June, Japan and Croatia played out a goalless draw at Frankenstadion in Nuremberg, a result that kept both teams' hopes alive but underscored Croatia's inefficiency in front of goal despite possession dominance.[131] Later that day, Brazil defeated Australia 2–0 at Allianz Arena in Munich, with Adriano converting a 49th-minute chance set up by Ronaldo and Fred tapping in a 90th-minute rebound, effectively sealing Australia's need for points in their final fixture.[127][132] The decisive final matches on 22 June saw Japan take a shock 1–0 lead against Brazil at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund via Keiji Tamada's seventh-minute goal, only for Brazil to rally with strikes from Ronaldo (45th), Juninho Pernambucano (53rd), Robinho (71st), and Ronaldinho (81st) in a 4–1 rout that confirmed their group leadership.[128][133] Concurrently, Croatia hosted Australia at Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, taking a 2–0 lead through Darijo Srna's 56th-minute free kick and Ivan Klasnić's 81st-minute header, but Craig Moore's 39th-minute penalty and Harry Kewell's 79th-minute equalizer salvaged a 2–2 draw, propelling Australia through on goal difference while eliminating Croatia.[134][135] This outcome was marred by controversy over a potential offside in Klasnić's goal, though video evidence later supported the on-field decision.Group G
Group G comprised France, Switzerland, South Korea, and Togo, with matches contested between 13 and 23 June 2006 across stadiums in Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Dortmund, Hanover, and Cologne.[136] Switzerland topped the group undefeated, securing advancement to the round of 16 with seven points from two wins and a draw, while maintaining a perfect defensive record by conceding no goals.[137] France advanced as runners-up with five points, overcoming early struggles with a decisive victory in their final match.[138] South Korea earned four points but were eliminated due to an inferior goal difference, despite a competitive showing against the top seeds.[139] Togo, making their debut at the World Cup, finished without points after three defeats, scoring only once.[140] The group standings were as follows:| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | +4 | 7 |
| 2 | France | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 5 |
| 3 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 4 |
| 4 | Togo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 0 |
Group H
Group H featured Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia, with Spain emerging as the dominant force by securing maximum points from three victories, advancing alongside Ukraine to the knockout stage.[144] Ukraine qualified on their World Cup debut by defeating Saudi Arabia and Tunisia after an initial loss to Spain.[145] Tunisia and Saudi Arabia each earned one point, finishing third and fourth respectively due to goal difference.[145] On 14 June 2006, Spain defeated Ukraine 4–0 at Zentralstadion in Leipzig, with David Villa scoring a hat-trick and Fernando Torres adding one.[146] In the concurrent match at Allianz Arena in Munich, Tunisia drew 2–2 with Saudi Arabia.[147] Matchday two on 19 June saw Ukraine thrash Saudi Arabia 4–0 at Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, with goals from Andriy Rusol, Serhiy Rebrov, Maksym Kalynychenko, and Andriy Shevchenko.[148] Spain overcame an early deficit to beat Tunisia 3–1 at Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, where Tunisia scored first before Fernando Torres netted twice and Raúl González once.[149] The final matches on 23 June confirmed the qualifiers: Ukraine edged Tunisia 1–0 at Olympiastadion in Berlin via an Andriy Shevchenko penalty in the 71st minute, following Tunisia's red card.[150] Spain completed a perfect group stage with a 1–0 win over Saudi Arabia at Fritz-Walter-Stadion in Kaiserslautern, courtesy of a David Villa goal.[151]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | +7 | 9 |
| 2 | Ukraine | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 6 |
| 3 | Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 1 |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | −5 | 1 |
Knockout Stage
Round of 16
On 24 June, Germany defeated Sweden 2–0 at the FIFA World Cup Stadium in Munich before a crowd of 66,000, advancing with early goals from Lukas Podolski in the 4th and 12th minutes; the hosts controlled possession and limited Sweden to few chances despite a late push.[153] Later that day in Leipzig's Zentralstadion, Argentina overcame Mexico 2–1 after extra time in front of 43,000 spectators, with Roberto Ayala scoring an own goal in the 26th minute, Juan Román Riquelme equalizing via penalty in the 76th, and Maxi Rodríguez netting the winner with a spectacular volley in the 98th minute.[154][155] The following day, 25 June, England progressed 1–0 against Ecuador at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart with 52,000 in attendance, David Beckham curling in a 37th-minute free kick as the decisive moment in a low-scoring affair marked by strong defensive play.[155] In Nuremberg's Frankenstadion, Portugal eliminated the Netherlands 1–0 before 41,000 fans in a fractious match, Maniche scoring in the 62nd minute amid 16 yellow cards and four red cards (to Deco, Costinha, Khalid Boulahrouz, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst), the highest disciplinary tally in World Cup knockout history up to that point.[76][155] On 26 June, Italy advanced 1–0 over Australia at Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa with 43,000 spectators, Marco Materazzi conceding a penalty converted by Francesco Totti (who was then sent off), but Fabio Grosso securing victory with a stoppage-time goal in the 95th minute after a swift counterattack.[155] Switzerland and Ukraine drew 0–0 at RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne before 45,000, with Ukraine winning 3–0 on penalties (scored by Andriy Shevchenko, Oleksandr Byalkovskyi, and Serhiy Rebrov) to reach the quarter-finals, marking the first penalty shoot-out in a World Cup knockout match since 1998.[155][141] The round concluded on 27 June, as Brazil routed Ghana 3–0 at Westfalenstadion in Dortmund with 65,000 in attendance, Ronaldo opening the scoring in the 5th minute to tie the World Cup goals record at 15 before adding a second in the 80th, with Adriano sealing it in the 82nd; Ghana showed resilience but lacked finishing.[155][141] In Hanover's AWD-Arena, France defeated Spain 3–1 in front of 43,000, Franck Ribéry scoring in the 20th, David Villa equalizing for Spain in the 28th, Patrick Vieira restoring the lead in the 75th, and Zidane converting a penalty in the 83rd to advance.[154][155]Quarter-finals
The quarter-finals featured four matches contested over two days, determining the semi-finalists from the round of 16 winners: Germany, Argentina, Italy, Ukraine, England, Portugal, Brazil, and France. These encounters were held at capacities exceeding 48,000 spectators each, with all advancing teams progressing via decisive goals or penalty shoot-outs after tight contests.| Date | Time (CET) | Match | Result | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 June | 17:00 | Germany vs Argentina | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p) | Olympiastadion, Berlin (72,000) |
| 30 June | 21:00 | Italy vs Ukraine | 3–0 | Volksparkstadion, Hamburg (50,000) |
| 1 July | 17:00 | England vs Portugal | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (1–3 p) | Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen (65,000) |
| 1 July | 21:00 | Brazil vs France | 0–1 | Commerzbank Arena, Frankfurt (48,000) |
Semi-finals
The semi-finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup featured Italy against host nation Germany on 4 July at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund, and Portugal against France on 5 July at Allianz Arena in Munich.[164] Both matches were tightly contested, with Italy advancing 2–0 after extra time against Germany, and France progressing 1–0 via a penalty against Portugal.[165][166] Germany 0–2 ItalyThe first semi-final, attended by 65,000 spectators, saw Germany and Italy play out a goalless 90 minutes dominated by defensive resilience and limited chances, with Germany's Podolski hitting the post early and Italy's Toni missing a header.[167] Extra time brought intense end-to-end action, culminating in Italy's breakthrough: Fabio Grosso scored in the 119th minute with a curling left-footed shot from a tight angle after a quick counter initiated by Luca Toni and Alberto Gilardino, followed by Alessandro Del Piero's insurance goal 120 seconds later, a low right-footed finish from Gilardino's unselfish pass.[165][167] Referee Benito Archimandritis oversaw the match, which ended Germany's run of four consecutive wins and propelled Italy to their first World Cup final since 1994, extending their unbeaten streak to 24 matches.[168] Gianluigi Buffon preserved the shutout with key saves, including denying Miroslav Klose late in regulation.[167] Portugal 0–1 France
In the second semi-final, drawing 66,000 fans, France took the lead in the 33rd minute when Zinedine Zidane converted a penalty after Ricardo Carvalho fouled Patrick Vieira in the box, with the decision upheld despite Portuguese protests over the contact's severity.[166][169] Portugal, coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari, pressed for an equalizer but struggled against France's compact midfield and counter-threats, managing only sporadic efforts like Luís Figo's long-range shot saved by Fabien Barthez.[169] The second half devolved into a scrappy affair with few clear opportunities, as France prioritized containment over expansion, absorbing pressure from Pauleta and Maniche while limiting Portugal to possession without penetration.[169] Referee Jorge Larrionda issued yellow cards to Carvalho and others amid rising tensions, but France held firm for their first final appearance since 1998, Zidane's sixth World Cup goal underscoring his pivotal role at age 34.[170][169]
Third Place Match
The third-place match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was played on 8 July 2006 at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany, between the host nation Germany and Portugal, the defeated semi-finalists.[171][172] The game, refereed by Japan's Toru Kamikawa, drew an attendance of 52,000 spectators.[172][173] The first half ended goalless, with both teams struggling to create clear chances amid physical play and frequent fouls.[174] Germany broke the deadlock in the 54th minute when midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger scored from 25 yards with a curling right-footed shot into the top corner.[174] Six minutes later, in the 60th minute, Portugal defender Petit inadvertently deflected a Schweinsteiger free kick into his own net, doubling Germany's lead.[175] Schweinsteiger sealed the victory with his second goal in the 79th minute, another long-range effort that beat goalkeeper Ricardo.[174] Portugal pulled one back in the 88th minute through Nuno Gomes, who headed in a cross from Luís Figo, but it proved merely a consolation.[176] Germany's 3–1 triumph marked their best World Cup finish on home soil since winning the tournament as West Germany in 1974, with Schweinsteiger's brace earning widespread praise for the 21-year-old's emergence.[174] Portugal, managed by Luiz Felipe Scolari, ended fourth, extending their streak of losses to host nations in knockout matches, having previously fallen to England in 1966 and South Korea in 2002. The bronze medal performance boosted German morale ahead of the final, though some players, including Cristiano Ronaldo, faced hostile crowd reactions.[177]Final
The final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, pitting Italy against France in a rematch of the 1982 final.[178] Both teams had advanced undefeated through the knockout stages, with Italy demonstrating defensive solidity under coach Marcello Lippi and France relying on Zinedine Zidane's playmaking despite their aging squad led by Raymond Domenech.[178] The match was refereed by Argentina's Horacio Elizondo, who had officiated the 2002 final.[179] France opened the scoring in the 7th minute when Zidane converted a penalty kick, awarded after Fabio Cannavaro fouled Thierry Henry in the penalty area; the ball struck the underside of the crossbar before crossing the line.[180] Italy equalized in the 19th minute through a header by Marco Materazzi from an Andrea Pirlo corner kick, capitalizing on defensive disarray in the French backline.[179] The first half ended 1–1, with both sides showing cautious play amid high stakes, as evidenced by limited clear chances beyond the goals—Italy managed three shots on target, France two.[181] The second half remained goalless, featuring physical challenges and yellow cards to Italy's Gianluca Zambrotta and France's Willy Sagnol, reflecting the match's intensity without further breakthroughs.[179] Extra time produced no additional goals until the 110th minute, when Zidane was sent off for headbutting Materazzi in the chest following a verbal exchange and shirt-grabbing incident near the center circle. Materazzi later explained that after Zidane gestured as if offering his shirt, he responded provocatively about Zidane's sister, stating, "If you really love her, you'll get one from her after the match," which he claimed prompted the reaction; Zidane maintained that Materazzi had insulted his mother and sister.[182] [183] With France reduced to ten men and Zidane—arguably their most influential player—ejected, the match proceeded to a penalty shoot-out. In the shoot-out, Italy successfully converted all five attempts: Pirlo, Materazzi, Daniele De Rossi, Alessandro Del Piero, and Francesco Totti.[181] France scored through Sylvain Wiltord and Éric Abidal but saw David Trezeguet strike the crossbar on their third kick and Willy Sagnol miss their fifth, resulting in a 5–3 victory for Italy.[181] Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved Sagnol's effort, securing the win.[178] Captain Fabio Cannavaro lifted the trophy, marking Italy's fourth World Cup title and first since 1982, achieved amid domestic turmoil from the Calciopoli scandal that had implicated several Serie A clubs but spared the national team core.[178] Materazzi was named man of the match for his goal and defensive contributions.[179] The victory validated Italy's counterattacking strategy and resilience, contrasting France's reliance on Zidane, whose expulsion underscored the risks of emotional provocation in high-pressure scenarios.Tournament Statistics
Goalscorers and Scoring
A total of 147 goals were scored across 64 matches, averaging 2.30 goals per match.[184][185] Four own goals were recorded during the tournament.[184] Officials awarded 17 penalties, of which 13 were converted.[185] Miroslav Klose of Germany was the top scorer with five goals, earning the Golden Shoe award.[186][64] Six players tied for second place with three goals each: Hernán Crespo (Argentina), Thierry Henry (France), Łukasz Podolski (Germany), Maxi Rodríguez (Argentina), Ronaldo (Brazil), and Zinédine Zidane (France).[187][188] The following table lists the leading goalscorers:| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 5 |
| 2 | Hernán Crespo | Argentina | 3 |
| 2 | Thierry Henry | France | 3 |
| 2 | Łukasz Podolski | Germany | 3 |
| 2 | Maxi Rodríguez | Argentina | 3 |
| 2 | Ronaldo | Brazil | 3 |
| 2 | Zinédine Zidane | France | 3 |
Disciplinary Records
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was marked by elevated disciplinary infractions, with referees issuing a tournament-record 345 yellow cards and 28 red cards across 64 matches.[184][189] This resulted in averages of 5.39 yellow cards and 0.44 red cards per game, surpassing prior editions in both metrics.[190] The most extreme instance occurred in the round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands on June 25, 2006, dubbed the "Battle of Nuremberg," where Russian referee Valentin Ivanov distributed 16 yellow cards and a World Cup single-game record of 4 red cards—two direct reds to Portugal's Costinha and Deco, and two yellow-reds to the Netherlands' Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst.[191][192] FIFA assessed team discipline via a fair play points system: 1 point per yellow card, 3 points for a yellow-red card, and 5 points for a direct red card.[193] Serbia achieved the best record with 0 points (no cards received), followed by Saudi Arabia (5 points from 5 yellows) and Spain (6 points from 6 yellows). Portugal fared worst with 24 points, stemming from 20 yellow cards and 2 yellow-red cards. No player accumulated more than 3 yellow cards.[193][194]| Team | Yellow Cards | Yellow-Red Cards | Red Cards | Fair Play Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serbia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Spain | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Portugal | 20 | 2 | 0 | 24 |
Awards and Recognitions
The adidas Golden Ball Award, given to the tournament's best player as selected by FIFA's Technical Study Group, was presented to Zinedine Zidane of France.[195] The Silver Ball went to Fabio Cannavaro of Italy, and the Bronze Ball to Andrea Pirlo, also of Italy.[195] [196] The Golden Shoe, awarded to the top goalscorer, was won by Miroslav Klose of Germany, who scored five goals across seven matches.[197] [198] The adidas Golden Glove for the best goalkeeper was awarded to Gianluigi Buffon of Italy, who conceded just two goals in seven appearances.[199] [200] The Best Young Player Award, introduced for the 2006 tournament and given to the outstanding player aged 21 or under at the start of the event, was won by Lukas Podolski of Germany; fans contributed to the selection via FIFA's website alongside the Technical Study Group.[201] [202] The FIFA Fair Play Award, recognizing the team with the best disciplinary record, was shared by Brazil and Spain.[203]| Award | Winner(s) | Nation(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Ball | Zinedine Zidane | France |
| Golden Shoe | Miroslav Klose (5 goals) | Germany |
| Golden Glove | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy |
| Best Young Player | Lukas Podolski | Germany |
| Fair Play | Brazil, Spain | - |
Final Team Standings
The final standings of the 2006 FIFA World Cup ranked teams based on their overall performance, primarily determined by points accumulated across all matches played: three points for a win, one point for a draw, and zero for a loss. Matches resolved by penalty shoot-outs after extra time were statistically recorded as draws, with one point awarded to each team, though the advancing side progressed in the tournament. Tie-breakers included goal difference, goals scored, and fair play records where applicable. While FIFA officially recognizes only the top four positions—Italy as champions, France as runners-up, Germany in third place after defeating Portugal 3–1 in the third-place match on 8 July 2006, and Portugal in fourth—the broader unofficial classification provides a comprehensive ordering of all 32 teams.[204][205]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italy | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 2 | +10 | 17 |
| 2 | France | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 15 |
| 3 | Germany | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 16 |
| 4 | Portugal | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 13 |
| 5 | Brazil | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 12 |
| 6 | Argentina | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | +6 | 11 |
| 7 | England | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 10 |
| 8 | Ukraine | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 4 | +1 | 8 |
| 9 | Switzerland | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 7 |
| 10 | Ecuador | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | +2 | 6 |
| ... | (Teams 11–32 ranked similarly, with group-stage eliminators at the bottom; e.g., Serbia and Montenegro finished last with 0 points from three losses and a -8 goal difference.) | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... |
Marketing and Broadcasting
Sponsorship and Commercial Aspects
FIFA structured sponsorship for the 2006 World Cup into global partners with multi-event rights, World Cup-specific sponsors, and host-country suppliers with limited domestic activation. Official FIFA Partners included Adidas (official sportswear since 1970), Coca-Cola (non-alcoholic beverages since 1974), Gillette (since 1970), Fujifilm (imaging since 1982), and Hyundai (automobiles, 2002–2006).[206] Additional World Cup partners encompassed McDonald's, MasterCard, Yahoo!, Continental, and Emirates, totaling fifteen sponsors overall.[207] Deutsche Telekom secured exclusive telecommunications rights as the first partner dedicated solely to the 2006 event.[208] To protect sponsor exclusivity, FIFA restricted non-partner stadium naming rights during the tournament; for instance, Munich's Allianz Arena operated under a neutral designation. Sponsorship generated US$892 million in revenue, part of broader marketing income exceeding US$2.422 billion, which included licensing and hospitality packages.[207] These figures contributed to FIFA's 2003–2006 cycle surplus of CHF 816 million (approximately US$660 million at contemporaneous rates), with 92% of total revenue from events like the World Cup.[209] Commercial operations emphasized controlled merchandising and ambush marketing prevention, with six official suppliers granted host-nation marketing privileges. Public ticket sales, a key revenue stream, reached 2.6 million units by February 2006 (84% of available inventory), surpassing initial projections and yielding income projected to exceed FIFA's forecasts by 4.7%.[210][211] Overall marketing from sponsorship, media, and tickets approached €1.9 billion, including €700 million beyond broadcasting rights.[212]Broadcasting and Media Coverage
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was broadcast to over 200 countries and territories, marking a record in global reach for the tournament. FIFA's marketing partner, Infront Sports & Media, facilitated the distribution of rights, resulting in the event being aired 43,600 times across 214 countries. Each of the 64 matches received an average of 858 hours of dedicated coverage and attracted an average audience of 259.9 million viewers per match. The tournament's cumulative television audience totaled 26.29 billion, comprising 24.2 billion in-home viewers and 2.1 billion out-of-home viewers, surpassing previous editions in scale.[213][214][215] Opening matches saw global television audiences increase by nearly 30% compared to the 2002 tournament, with Brazil's games drawing particularly high viewership due to the nation's popularity. The final between Italy and France achieved a global cumulative audience of 715.1 million viewers, one of the most-watched sporting events in history at the time. This figure represented a significant portion of the world's population, estimated at around 6.5 billion in 2006, underscoring the event's universal appeal. Innovations included the first full high-definition television (HDTV) broadcast of all matches, enhancing viewing quality in supported markets.[216][215][2][217] In the United States, English-language rights were held by ABC and ESPN, while Univision covered Spanish-language broadcasts. Over 120 million Americans watched at least one minute of the tournament, with the U.S. team's opening match against the Czech Republic drawing a record 2.06 million viewers on ESPN2 for a non-final game. The final averaged 16.9 million viewers across ABC (11.9 million) and Univision (5 million), a 152% increase from 2002's final. The audience skewed 65% male and 35% female, reflecting soccer's growing but still niche appeal in the U.S. market.[218][219][220] Media coverage extended beyond linear television, with FIFA Fan Fests attracting 18 million visitors across 12 venues, providing public viewing opportunities that amplified the event's social footprint. While official metrics emphasized positive growth, some regions faced challenges, such as restricted access in parts of the Arab world due to broadcasting disputes, prompting debates over viewer rights under local freedom of expression laws. These factors contributed to the tournament's status as a benchmark for global sports media dissemination.[221][222]Symbols and Ceremonies
Mascot and Match Ball
The official mascots for the 2006 FIFA World Cup were Goleo VI, an anthropomorphic lion dressed in a Germany national team jersey bearing the number 06, and Pille, a talking white football serving as Goleo's companion and head.[223] Goleo VI, designed by The Jim Henson Company, derived its name from a combination of "goal" and "leo" (Latin for lion), symbolizing scoring prowess and the host nation's hosting of the sixth World Cup on its soil.[224] The mascots were unveiled on November 13, 2004, at a press conference in Leipzig, Germany, as part of FIFA's promotional efforts to engage fans through merchandise, appearances, and media.[225] Public reception to Goleo VI and Pille was largely negative, with critics and fans decrying the design's lack of cultural ties to Germany, as lions hold no traditional significance in German heraldry or folklore, unlike more regionally evocative animals in prior World Cups.[226] Graphic designer Erik Spiekermann, who consulted on the project, publicly criticized the choice of a lion for its absence of historical relevance, contributing to the mascots' failure to resonate widely despite FIFA's marketing push, including music releases and stadium appearances.[226] The official match ball was the Adidas +Teamgeist, produced by Adidas in collaboration with Molten Corporation and featuring a novel 14-panel configuration that reduced seams for improved aerodynamics and flight stability compared to traditional 32-panel designs.[227] This thermally bonded construction enhanced durability and water resistance, with each of the 64 matches using a uniquely printed ball marked with the specific date, venue, and event details to prevent counterfeiting and ensure authenticity.[228] Tested extensively by Adidas's innovation team under laboratory and field conditions, the +Teamgeist prioritized precision passing and shooting, aligning with FIFA's standards for elite-level play, though some players noted its harder feel required adjustment during early tournament games.[227]Official Music and Events
The official anthem for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, titled "Zeit, dass sich was dreht" (translated as "Celebrate the Day" in English), was performed by German musician Herbert Grönemeyer featuring Malian artists Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia.[229] Released in multiple languages including German, English, Spanish, and French to reflect the tournament's international scope, it emphasized themes of unity and renewal, aligning with Germany's hosting narrative of post-reunification optimism.[230] The track was produced under FIFA's endorsement and integrated into promotional materials, though it received mixed reception for its eclectic fusion of rock and world music elements compared to more pop-oriented prior World Cup anthems.[230] Complementing the anthem, "The Time of Our Lives" served as the official song, a ballad performed by classical crossover group Il Divo and American singer Toni Braxton.[231] Released on May 29, 2006, via [Sony BMG](/page/Sony_BM G), the single peaked at number 21 on the UK Singles Chart and was featured prominently in FIFA broadcasts and merchandise.[232] Its lyrics focused on seizing the moment, resonating with the event's celebratory atmosphere, and it garnered over 10 million YouTube views by 2009, indicating sustained fan engagement despite limited chart success in Germany.[231] Key musical events included the opening ceremony on June 9, 2006, at Munich's Allianz Arena, which drew 66,000 spectators and featured a 37-minute multimedia spectacle blending contemporary rhythms, acrobatics, and cultural segments from participating nations.[233] Il Divo and Toni Braxton performed "The Time of Our Lives" live during the ceremony, preceding the tournament's kickoff match between Germany and Costa Rica.[233] The event incorporated sound reinforcement by JBL systems and AKG microphones for high-fidelity audio across the stadium.[234] [235] A similar performance occurred before the July 9 final between Italy and France at Berlin's Olympiastadion, reinforcing the song's role in ceremonial framing.[236] The Federal Government's artistic and cultural programme extended musical events beyond stadiums, with public concerts and exhibitions in host cities showcasing global influences, including Brazilian samba, French orchestral works, Japanese taiko drums, and African rhythms tied to the last-16 teams' heritage.[237] These initiatives, coordinated with FIFA, aimed to foster public participation, though attendance data specific to music-focused segments remains limited in official records. No major standalone official concerts were headlined by FIFA, prioritizing integration with match-day festivities over independent events.Controversies
Refereeing and Officiating Issues
The 2006 FIFA World Cup featured a record 28 red cards across 64 matches, surpassing the previous high of 17 from the 1998 tournament, with yellow cards totaling 345 and an average of 5.11 per game.[185][184] This elevated disciplinary level prompted widespread media criticism that inconsistent and overly punitive officiating disrupted play, though FIFA attributed it partly to stricter enforcement of rules amid physical matches.[238] A prominent error occurred on June 22 in the group stage match between Australia and Croatia, which ended 2–2, when English referee Graham Poll issued three yellow cards to Croatian defender Josip Šimunić without ejecting him after the second, only sending him off after the third booking and following the final whistle.[239] Poll's lapse, which delayed Šimunić's dismissal until after Australia's equalizer, drew immediate condemnation from FIFA officials and contributed to his removal from the tournament roster on June 28 alongside Russian referee Valentin Ivanov.[238][240] The round-of-16 clash between Portugal and the Netherlands on June 25, dubbed the "Battle of Nuremberg," exemplified extreme card issuance under Ivanov, who showed a World Cup-record 16 yellows and 4 reds—ejecting Portugal's Costinha and Deco plus the Netherlands' Khalid Boulahrouz and Giovanni van Bronckhorst—in a 1–0 Portuguese victory marred by 14 fouls in the opening 10 minutes alone.[241] FIFA President Sepp Blatter publicly rebuked Ivanov's handling as excessive, leading to his exclusion despite initial defense by some observers who noted the match's inherent aggression.[56] Pre-tournament, FIFA withdrew Italian referee Pierluigi Collina's assistants and investigated others amid Italy's Serie A match-fixing scandal (Calciopoli), which implicated refereeing influences and tainted perceptions of impartiality, though no direct World Cup assignments were affected beyond the withdrawals.[242] Post-event reviews by FIFA highlighted these incidents as isolated human errors rather than systemic bias, with no evidence of widespread corruption in officiating, but the high dismissal rate fueled calls for improved referee training and technology adoption in subsequent tournaments.[238]Major On-Field Incidents
In the group stage match between Italy and the United States on June 17, 2006, tensions escalated into physical confrontations, resulting in three red cards. Italian midfielder Daniele de Rossi was ejected in the 28th minute for elbowing U.S. forward Brian McBride in the face, drawing blood and requiring stitches.[243] U.S. players Pablo Mastroeni and Eddie Pope were also sent off—Mastroeni in the 44th minute for a studs-up challenge on Andrea Pirlo, and Pope in the 90th for denying a goalscoring opportunity.[244] The game ended 1–1, with both teams playing short-handed for significant periods, marking one of the most disciplinary-heavy encounters of the tournament.[243] The round of 16 clash between Portugal and the Netherlands on June 25, 2006, known as the "Battle of Nuremberg," set a World Cup record for cards issued in a single match: 16 yellows and 4 reds.[245] Dutch defender Khalid Boulahrouz sparked early violence by elbowing Portugal's Luís Figo in the face, earning a yellow that later upgraded to red.[246] Further ejections included Portugal's Costinha and Deco for second yellows, and Netherlands' Rafael van der Vaart for a stamp on Maniche; the match devolved into repeated fouls and skirmishes, with Portugal advancing 1–0 via a Maniche goal amid widespread criticism of its brutality.[245] [246] In the quarterfinal between England and Portugal on July 1, 2006, English forward Wayne Rooney received a straight red card in the 62nd minute for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho's groin during a challenge, leaving England with 10 men.[247] The incident fueled on-field confrontations, exacerbated by Cristiano Ronaldo's gestures toward the Portuguese bench, though no further dismissals occurred; England lost on penalties.[247] Post-match in the Germany vs. Argentina quarterfinal on June 30, 2006, a large brawl erupted after Germany's 4–2 penalty shootout victory, involving players shoving and grappling near the tunnel, with Argentina's Roberto Ayala and Germany's Torsten Frings central to the melee.[248] No additional cards were issued immediately, but FIFA reviewed footage without suspensions.[248] The tournament's most infamous incident occurred in the final between France and Italy on July 9, 2006, when Zinedine Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi in the chest during extra time, following an exchange of words and jersey-pulling. Zidane was shown a red card and ejected, depriving France of its captain; Italy won on penalties. FIFA later fined both players: Zidane €7,500 and a three-match ban (irrelevant post-retirement), Materazzi €5,000 and two matches.[249]Broader Corruption and Organizational Criticisms
The bidding process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup hosting rights, decided on July 31, 2000, in Zurich, awarded the tournament to Germany over South Africa by a vote of 12–11, amid longstanding allegations of vote-buying and financial irregularities within FIFA's executive committee.[13] A key controversy centered on a €6.7 million payment transferred in November 2000 from the German Football Association (DFB) bid committee—via Adidas and Franz Beckenbauer, the bid's honorary president—to FIFA, ostensibly for "costs related to government guarantees" for the event's financing, though documents later suggested it functioned as a slush fund to influence votes from four Asian FIFA officials.[14] Beckenbauer, who denied any impropriety and claimed the funds supported South African development projects, faced Swiss criminal investigations starting in September 2016 for suspected bribery and money laundering tied to the bid.[21] These revelations, first detailed in a 2015 Der Spiegel investigation amid the broader FIFAgate scandal exposing FIFA's entrenched corruption, prompted the resignation of DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach in November 2015, who cited "political responsibility" for the undisclosed payment despite insisting it was legitimate.[19] FIFA's ethics committee launched a formal probe into the 2006 award in March 2016, highlighting the organization's opaque decision-making processes that enabled such transactions.[18] While a DFB-commissioned inquiry in March 2016 found "no indication of corruption" in the payment's use, subsequent German court proceedings culminated in June 2025 with fines totaling €50,000 against the DFB and former executives for tax evasion related to the funds, underscoring failures in financial transparency rather than resolving bribery claims outright.[22][17] Broader organizational criticisms of FIFA during this period emphasized its governance flaws, including insufficient oversight of executive committee voting, reliance on unverified verbal commitments from member associations, and a culture of patronage that predated and persisted beyond 2006. Critics, including transparency advocates, argued that FIFA's decentralized structure and lack of independent audits facilitated systemic favoritism, as evidenced by parallel scandals like undeclared payments to influence other bids.[250] The 2006 case exemplified how FIFA's self-policing mechanisms, such as the Ethics Committee established in 2006 but initially toothless, failed to deter misconduct, contributing to repeated calls for external regulation that went unheeded until post-2015 reforms. No FIFA officials were convicted specifically over the 2006 bid, but the episode eroded trust in the organization's integrity, with investigative reports attributing such vulnerabilities to its monopoly on global football governance.[251]Legacy and Impact
Economic Outcomes
The 2006 FIFA World Cup required investments exceeding €1.4 billion in stadium renovations and new constructions across twelve venues, with total costs for the event estimated at approximately $4.3 billion, encompassing infrastructure, security, and operational expenses primarily funded through a mix of public subsidies, private club investments, and FIFA contributions.[252][253] The German organizing committee generated a financial surplus of €155 million, which was partly allocated to domestic sports bodies, reflecting efficient management compared to subsequent host nations.[252] Short-term economic effects were modest, with the event contributing less than 0.25 percentage points to GDP growth in the second quarter of 2006, driven by temporary boosts in consumption and tourism receipts that rose by €1.5 billion but resulted in a net tourism balance decline of €324 million due to domestic substitution and outbound travel by Germans.[254][252] International visitor revenues increased by $3.5 billion compared to 2005, marking an 11.2% rise, though employment gains of 25,000–50,000 jobs proved temporary and statistically insignificant amid broader labor market dynamics.[255][252] Pre-event projections of larger stimuli, such as €3–10 billion in GDP impetus, were overstated, as crowding-out effects in retail and other sectors offset direct spending.[256][257] Long-term outcomes emphasized intangible benefits, including an enhanced national image that facilitated sustained tourism growth; international arrivals and related revenues continued to expand post-2006, with the event credited for initiating a broader recovery in Germany's tourism sector previously hampered by perceptions of unfriendliness.[255][252] Stadium legacies provided marginal increases in attendance (approximately 10% per match via novelty effects) without widespread economic multipliers, underscoring that while direct fiscal returns were limited, the World Cup reinforced infrastructure utility for ongoing domestic use.[252][258]Social and National Impact in Germany
The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany fostered a period of national euphoria dubbed the Sommermärchen ("summer fairy tale"), marked by extensive public celebrations, favorable weather, and packed stadiums with over 3.3 million total attendees across matches.[259][260] Public viewing initiatives, including the inaugural FIFA Fan Fests in 12 host cities, attracted around 18 million visitors, promoting social interactions and communal experiences that enhanced short-term cohesion.[48] This event spurred an unusual surge in overt patriotism, with widespread flag displays breaking a post-World War II taboo against public national pride, particularly as the first major international tournament hosted after reunification in 1990.[261] The national team's third-place finish and dynamic play amplified a "feel-good effect," improving individual moods and economic perceptions independently of macroeconomic shifts.[262][263] Germany strategically leveraged the tournament to reshape its international image, countering persistent stereotypes of rigidity and inefficiency through organized hospitality and media campaigns, leading to documented positive shifts in foreign attitudes.[264] Longer-term analyses reveal the impacts were transient: no sustained rise in patriotism occurred, though modest declines in xenophobic sentiments were noted in surveys comparing pre- and post-event attitudes.[265] Subsequent events, including the 2014 World Cup victory, failed to replicate the 2006 fervor, partly due to evolving political contexts associating nationalism with extremism.[261]Global Influence and Long-term Effects
The 2006 FIFA World Cup hosted in Germany marked a pivotal moment in reshaping the country's global perception, transitioning from associations with historical rigidity to one of openness and vibrancy. The event, themed "A time to make friends," fostered widespread international goodwill, with long-term surveys indicating sustained positive shifts in foreign attitudes toward Germany as a destination and society. This image leveraging through fan-centered campaigns and public enthusiasm contributed to a "feel-good factor" that endured beyond the tournament, evidenced by increased recommendations of Germany as a travel destination by World Cup visitors.[266][267][268] On a broader scale, the tournament amplified football's role in global cultural exchange and unity, drawing participants and audiences from all continents and highlighting emerging football nations such as Ghana and Angola in their debut knockout appearances. This visibility spurred discussions on inclusive global development in the sport, though empirical data on direct investments remains limited. Economically, the event generated substantial international media and sponsorship revenues for FIFA, with the organizing committee achieving a surplus that supported worldwide football initiatives, while boosting global consumer engagement with the sport through heightened viewership and merchandising.[269][252] Long-term effects included a model for secure mega-event hosting amid post-9/11 concerns, influencing protocols for subsequent international gatherings with effective crowd management for over 3 million attendees without major incidents. In football governance, the tournament's high-profile refereeing controversies prompted FIFA to accelerate reviews of officiating standards, though substantive technological reforms like goal-line assistance materialized later. These outcomes underscored the World Cup's capacity to drive incremental advancements in sports administration and infrastructure, with indirect global ripples in youth participation and media consumption patterns persisting into the following decade.[258][270]| Previous | Next |
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References
- https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Germany_beat_Portugal_3-1_to_take_FIFA_World_Cup_bronze