2006 FESPIC Games, Development and preparation
The KL'06 9th FESPIC Games Organising Committee was formed to oversee the staging of the games.


2006 FESPIC Games, Development and preparation, Venues
The 2006 FESPIC Games used a mix of new, existing and temporary venues. Most venues were public-sporting facilities which will revert to public use after the games. No major retrofitting work were done in most venues as most had been used to host major multi-sporting events such as the 1998 Commonwealth Games, 2001 Southeast Asian Games and the 2001 ASEAN Para Games.


2006 FESPIC Games, Development and preparation, Venues
At the centrepiece of the activities was the National Sports Complex. Incorporating the 87,411-seat world-famous Bukit Jalil National Stadium, it hosted most of the events.


2006 FESPIC Games, Development and preparation, Venues
Due to the small budget,the games village was not built. Instead, a "village in the city" concept saw athletes and officials housed in 13 hotels across the Klang Valley. These hotels were close to the competition venues,with this decision it was expected with the resources that would hypothetically be used to build a village to be used for other purposes during the Games.


2006 FESPIC Games, Development and preparation, Venues
The Final FESPIC Games had 20 venues for the games. 11 in Kuala Lumpur, 7 in Selangor and two stand-alone venues in Putrajaya and Negeri Sembilan respectively.


2006 FESPIC Games, Marketing, Logo
The 2006 FESPIC Games logo is a heart-shape image which represents the spirit, passion and tradition of the FESPIC Games. The initial KL in the logo, represents Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia as the venue of the Games, and the '06 represents to the year 2006.


2006 FESPIC Games, Marketing, Mascot
The official mascot of the 2006 FESPIC Games is a pair of mousedeer named "Ujang", the male one and its female counterpart, "Cek Mek". The adoption of mousedeer as the games' mascot is to represent the courage of the Paralympic athletes in overcoming challenges and the odds. The names of the mascots, Ujang and Che Mek, are common nicknames for local Malay youths.


2006 FESPIC Games, The games, Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony was held on 25 November 2006 at the KLFA Stadium. The ceremony begins with the marching of the Malaysian Armed Forces along with the mascots of the games. This was followed by the firework display and the marching of the contingents of the participating nations. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, then Prime minister of Malaysia, declared the games opened. Lee Seng Chow, the blind discus throw athlete then take the oath on behalf of the athletes. Finally the torch was lit by four Malaysian paralympic athletes, Razali Jaafar, Hisham Khaironi, Choo Kam Chan and David Wang.


2006 FESPIC Games, The games, Closing ceremony
The closing ceremony was held on 1 December 2006 at the KLFA Stadium.


2006 FESPIC Games, The games, Medal table
A total of 1476 medals, comprising 542 Gold medals, 476 Silver medals, 458 Bronze medals were awarded to athletes. The host Malaysia's performance was their best ever yet and was placed fourth overall amongst participating nations.


2006 FFSA season
The Football Federation South Australia 2006 season was the first season ran by the Football Federation of South Australia, which replaced the South Australian Soccer Federation. The competition consisted of three divisions across the State of South Australia. The top division of association football was the South Australian Super League, replacing the South Australian Premier League, which became the second division.


2006 FFSA season, 2006 FFSA Super League
The 2006 South Australian Super League was the first season of the South Australian Super League, the new top division of association football in South Australia, replacing the South Australian Premier League, which became the second division. It was also the first year that football in South Australia was run by the Football Federation of South Australia, which replaced the South Australian Soccer Federation. The season came down to a final round relegation battle between White City Woodville and Adelaide Olympic. Olympic lost 3–1 at Modbury while White City went down 1–0 away to Cumberland. This sent Olympic down to play in the Premier League in 2007. Adelaide City won the title with games to spare after being runaway leaders, finishing the season unbeaten.


2006 FFSA season, 2006 FFSA Premier League
The 2006 FFSA Premier League was the first edition of the FFSA Premier League as the second level domestic association football competition in South Australia. 10 teams competed, all playing each other twice for a total of 18 rounds, with the League winners promoted to the 2007 FFSA Super League, and the bottom two placed teams were relegated to the 2007 FFSA State League.


2006 FFSA season, 2006 FFSA State League
The 2006 FFSA State League was the first edition of the FFSA State League as the third level domestic association football competition in South Australia. 8 teams competed, all playing each other three times for a total of 21 rounds. The League winners and second placers were promoted to the 2007 FFSA Premier League.


2006 FIA GT Adria 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Adria Supercar 500 was the ninth race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on October 15, 2006.


2006 FIA GT Adria 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Adria 500km, Official results
† – Car #59 was disqualified for an illegal ride height in post-race inspection.


2006 FIA GT Brno 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Brno 500 km was the second race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on May 28, 2006.


2006 FIA GT Brno 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Budapest 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Budapest 500 km was the eighth race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on September 30, 2006, being run at the Hungaroring.


2006 FIA GT Budapest 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Championship
The 2006 FIA GT Championship season is the 10th season of FIA GT Championship. It is a series for Grand Touring style cars broken into two classes based on power and manufacturer involvement, called GT1 and GT2. Invitational G2 and G3 classes are also allowed to participate, but do not count towards the championships. It began on 7 May 2006 and ended on the 18 November 2006 after 10 races.


2006 FIA GT Championship, Teams Championship
Points are awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours, where half points are also granted for the leaders after 6 and 12 hours. Both cars score points towards the championship regardless of finishing position.


2006 FIA GT Championship, Manufacturers Cup
Points are awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours. All cars score points towards the championship regardless of finishing position.


2006 FIA GT Championship, Drivers Championship
Points are awarded to the top 8 finishers in the order of 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 except at the Spa 24 Hours. Drivers who do not drive the car for a minimum distance do not score points.


2006 FIA GT Dijon 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Dijon 500 km was the sixth race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on September 3, 2006.


2006 FIA GT Dijon 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Dubai 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Motor City GT 500 was the final race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on November 18, 2006.


2006 FIA GT Dubai 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Mugello 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Mugello 500 km was the seventh race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on September 17, 2006.


2006 FIA GT Mugello 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Oschersleben 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Oschersleben 500 km was the third race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on July 2, 2006.


2006 FIA GT Oschersleben 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km
The 2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500 km was the fifth race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on August 20, 2006.


2006 FIA GT Paul Ricard 500km, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT Tourist Trophy
The 2006 FIA GT RAC Tourist Trophy was the first race for the 2006 FIA GT Championship season. It took place on May 7, 2006 at Silverstone Circuit.


2006 FIA GT Tourist Trophy, Official results
Class winners in bold. Cars failing to complete 70% of winner's distance marked as Not Classified (NC).


2006 FIA GT3 European Championship
The 2006 FIA GT3 European Championship season was the inaugural season of the FIA GT3 European Championship. The season began on May 2, 2006, and ended on September 17, 2006, and featured ten one-hour races over five rounds.


2006 FIA GT3 European Championship, Schedule
All races were one hour in length, and served as support races for the FIA GT Championship.


2006 FIA GT3 European Championship, Championships, Drivers Championship
Points are awarded to the top eight finishers in the order 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1


2006 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup
The 2006 FIBA Africa Basketball Club Championship (21st edition), was an international basketball tournament  held in Lagos, Nigeria, from November 18 to 26, 2006. The tournament, organized by FIBA Africa and hosted by Dodan Warriors, was contested by 12 clubs split into 2 groups of 6, the first four of which qualifying for the knock-out stage.


2006 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, Draw
BACK Dodan Warriors Inter Club Brazzaville KCB Lions Petro Atlético Zenith BC


2006 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, Draw
Abidjan Basket Club BC Onatra Africa Sports ESPN / AND 1 Plateau Peaks Primeiro de Agosto


2006 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup, Final standings
Petro Atlético rosterCarlos Morais, Domingos Bonifácio, Eduardo Mingas, Feliciano Camacho, Fernando Albano, Frederick Gentry, Jorge Tati, Leonel Paulo, Luís Costa, Mílton Barros, Shannon Crooks, Víctor de Carvalho, Coach: Alberto de Carvalho


2006 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup qualifying rounds
The qualifying rounds for the 2006 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup were played in two groups, in Kinshasa and Abidjan, respectively, each group qualifying four teams for the final round, played in Lagos, Nigeria.


2006 FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup squads
This article displays the rosters for the participating teams at the 2006 FIBA Africa Club Championship.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
The 2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship was the 15th U-18 FIBA Africa championship, played under the auspices of the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, the world basketball sport governing body. The tournament was held from July 28 to August 6, 2006 in Durban, South Africa, contested by 9 national teams and won by Nigeria.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship
The tournament qualified the winner and the runner-up for the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship, Final standings
Nigeria rosterAbel Baraya, Ahmed Ayodele, Daniel Daudu, Faruk Oyalade, Franck Eze, George Ehiagwina, Ibrahim Yusuf, Mbaram Omori, Nosa Omorogbe, Oluwaseyi Ayodele, Orseer Ikyaator, Solomon Alabi, Coach: Adeka Dauda


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women
The 2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women was the 9th FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and the FIBA Africa thereof. The tournament was hosted by Benin from September 8 to 16, 2006.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women
Mali defeated Ivory Coast 77-66 in the final to win their third title  with both winner and runner-up qualifying for the 2007 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women, Final standings
Mali rosterAïssata Bore, Fanta Toure, Fatoumata Bagayoko, Fatoumata Traoré, Kadia Sacko, Kadiatou Coulibaly, Kama Dembélé, Minata Keita, Naignouma Coulibaly, Nassira Traoré, Ouleymatou Coulibaly, Sira Diakité, Coach:


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women squads
This article displays the rosters for the participating teams at the 2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship for Women.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship squads
This article displays the rosters for the participating teams at the 2008 FIBA Africa Under-18 Championship.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-20 Championship for Women
The 2006 FIBA Africa Under-20 Championship for Women was the 2nd and last FIBA Africa Under-20 Championship for Women, played under the rules of FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, and the FIBA Africa thereof. The tournament was hosted by Mozambique from December 2 to 9 2006, with the games played at the Pavilhão do Maxaquene in Maputo.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-20 Championship for Women
Mali defeated Mozambique 49–47 in the final to win their first title. and securing a spot at the 2007 U-21 Women's World Cup.


2006 FIBA Africa Under-20 Championship for Women squads
This article displays the rosters for the participating teams at the 2006 FIBA Africa Under-20 Championship for Women.


2006 FIBA Africa Women's Clubs Champions Cup
The 2006 FIBA Africa Women's Clubs Champions Cup (12th edition), was an international basketball tournament  held in Libreville, Gabon, from October 21 to 29, 2006. The tournament, organized by FIBA Africa and hosted by Somo BB, was contested by 12 clubs split into 2 groups of 6, the first four of which qualifying for the knock-out stage.


2006 FIBA Africa Women's Clubs Champions Cup
The tournament was won by Primeiro de Agosto from Angola.


2006 FIBA Africa Women's Clubs Champions Cup, Draw
Arc-en-Ciel First Bank Interclube ISPU Kenya Ports Authority Somo BB


2006 FIBA Africa Women's Clubs Champions Cup, Draw
Abidjan Basket Club Djoliba Dolphins Ferroviário de Maputo Hatari Primeiro de Agosto


2006 FIBA Africa Women's Clubs Champions Cup, Final standings
Primeiro de Agosto rosterÂngela Cardoso, Astrida Vicente, Bárbara Guimarães, Bokomba Masela, Domitila Ventura, Ernestina Neto, Isabel Francisco, Jaquelina Francisco, Luísa Miguel, Luísa Tomás, Mariana Rafael, Sónia Guadalupe, Coach: Higino Garcia


2006 FIBA Africa Women's Clubs Champions Cup squads
This article displays the rosters for the participating teams at the 2006 FIBA Africa Club Championship for Women.


2006 FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship for Women
The 2006 FIBA Americas Under-20 Championship for Women was the second edition of the Americas under-20 women's basketball championship. The tournament took place in Mexico City, Mexico, from 8 to 12 August 2006. United States women's national under-20 basketball team won the tournament and became the Americas champions for the second time. The top three teams qualified for the 2007 FIBA Under-21 World Championship for Women.


2006 FIBA Asia Champions Cup
The 2006 FIBA Asia Champions Cup was the 17th staging of the FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the basketball club tournament of FIBA Asia. The tournament was held in Kuwait City, Kuwait from May 31 to June 8, 2006.


2006 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, Qualification
According to the FIBA Asia rules, each zone had one place, and the hosts (Kuwait) and Asian champion (Qatar) were automatically qualified. The other three places are allocated to the zones according to performance in the 2005 FIBA Asia Champions Cup.


2006 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship
The FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship 2006 is the 2006 edition of the International Basketball Federation FIBA Asia's youth championship for basketball. The games were held at Urumqi, China


2006 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship
The top 3 teams qualified for the 2007 FIBA Under-19 World Championship.


2006 FIBA Asia Under-20 Championship for Women
FIBA Asia Under-20 Championship for Women 2006 is FIBA Asia's basketball championship for females under 20 years old. The games were held at Singapore.


2006 FIBA Asia Under-20 Championship for Women
The championship is divided into two levels: Level I and Level II. The two lowest finishers of Level I meets the top two finishers to determine which teams qualify for Level for next championship. The losers are relegated to Level II.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 20th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship. The cities of Linares, Andújar and Martos, in Spain, hosted the tournament. Spain won the trophy for the first time. Germany and Iceland were relegated to Division B.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship Division B
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship Division B was an international basketball competition held in Estonia in 2006.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was an international basketball  competition held in Greece in 2006.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship Division B was an international basketball  competition held in Romania in 2006.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women Division B
The 2006 FIBA U18 Women's European Championship Division B was the second edition of the Division B of the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship, the second tier of the European women's under-18 basketball championship. It was played in Chieti, Italy, from 21 to 30 July 2006. Italy women's national under-18 basketball team won the tournament.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women Division B, First round
In the first round, the teams were drawn into four groups. The first two teams from each group advance to the Quarterfinal round (Groups E and F); the other teams will play in the Classification round (Group G).


2006 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship for Women Division B, Quarterfinal round
In the Quarterfinal round, the teams play in two groups of four. The first two teams from each group advance to the Semifinals; the third and fourth teams will play in the 5th–8th place playoffs.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the ninth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of İzmir, in Turkey, hosted the tournament. Serbia and Montenegro won their second title, the first one with that name (they won the 1998 Championship) as Yugoslavia.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, Preliminary round
The sixteen teams were allocated in four groups of four teams each. Note that while Serbia and Montenegro dissolved into Serbia and Montenegro in June 2006, they still competed as one team.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, Quarter-Final round
The eight teams were allocated in two groups of four teams each.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, Classification round
The eight teams were allocated in two groups of four teams each.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, Final standings
Tadija Dragićević, Milenko Tepić, Boris Bakić, Novica Veličković, Dragan Labović, Nenad Mijatović, Branko Jereminov, Miljan Rakić, Nikola Peković, Ivan Paunić, Nikola  Dragović, and Ivan Maraš. Head Coach: Miroslav Nikolić.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B was the second edition of the Division B of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship, the second-tier level of European Under-20 basketball. The city of Lisbon, in Portugal, hosted the tournament. Georgia won their first title.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B, Preliminary round
The sixteen teams were allocated in four groups of four teams each.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B, Quarter-final round
The eight top teams were allocated in two groups of four teams each.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship Division B, Classification round
The eight bottom teams were allocated in two groups of four teams each.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women was the fifth edition of the Women's European basketball championship for national under-20 teams. It was held in Sopron, Hungary, from 7 to 16 July 2006. Russia women's national under-20 basketball team won the tournament and became the European champions for the third time.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women, First round
In the first round, the teams were drawn into four groups of four. The first two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinal round, the other teams will play in the classification round for 9th–16th place.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women, Quarterfinal round
In this round, the teams play in two groups of four. The first two teams from each group advance to the semifinals, the other teams will play in the 5th–8th place playoffs.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women, Classification round for 9th–16th place
In this round, the teams play in two groups of four. The first two teams from each group advance to the 9th–12th place playoffs, the other teams will play in the 13th–16th place playoffs.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women Division B
The 2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women Division B was the second edition of the Division B of the Women's European basketball championship for national under-20 teams. It was held in Druskininkai, Lithuania, from 7 to 16 July 2006. Belarus women's national under-20 basketball team won the tournament.


2006 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship for Women Division B, First round
In the first round, the teams were drawn into two groups. The first four teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, the other teams will play in the 9th–11th place playoffs.


2006 FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup
The 2006 FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup, or 2006 FIBA Mini World Cup, was the second edition of the FIBA Stanković Continental Champions' Cup tournament. It was held in Nanjing and Kunshan, People's Republic of China, from August 11 to 15.


2006 FIBA World Championship
The 2006 FIBA World Championship was the 15th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. The tournament was hosted by Japan and held from August 19 to September 3, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), Japan Basketball Association (JABBA) and the 2006 Organizing Committee.


2006 FIBA World Championship
For the first time since 1986, the World Championship was contested by 24 nations, eight more than in 2002. As a result, group rounds were conducted in four cities, with the knockout rounds being hosted by Saitama City.


2006 FIBA World Championship
The tournament was won by Spain, who, in the championship final, beat Greece, 70–47, to finish the tournament having won all nine games played. For Spain, it was a record breaking performance at the FIBA World Championship and something the country had never seen before. It was the first time Spain had won Gold in the FIBA World Championship along with it being the first time Spain had won a medal at the FIBA world championship. Pau Gasol also became the first Spaniard to win the MVP award.


2006 FIBA World Championship
It was the first time a country has won all nine of its games since 1994 when the United States won all nine games and took the gold medal home. The bronze medal was won by the United States, who defeated Argentina, 96–81, in the third place game, after a crushing loss by Greece. Up to 2014, including the 2014 tournament, it has been the only tournament where neither Yugoslavia or the USA have reached the final until 2019. The 2006 tournament marked the final appearance of Serbia and Montenegro as they broke up into the independent nations of Serbia and Montenegro after a successful independence referendum in Montenegro in May.


2006 FIBA World Championship
Seventeen years after the 2006 edition, Japan will once again host the FIBA World Championships, now called the World Cup in 2023 in Okinawa along with the Philippines and Indonesia.


2006 FIBA World Championship, Squads
At the start of tournament, all 24 participating countries had 12 players on their roster.


2006 FIBA World Championship, Competing nations
Japan qualified as the host country, and Italy, Puerto Rico, Serbia and Montenegro, and Turkey gained FIBA wild-card invitations. Argentina qualified as the champion of the 2004 Olympics. The remaining 18 countries qualified through their continents' qualifying tournaments (six from Europe, four from the Americas, three from each of Asia and Africa and two from Oceania).


2006 FIBA World Championship, Competing nations
The draw for the 2006 World Championship was held in Tokyo on 15 January 2006. In the preliminary rounds, Group A played at Sendai, Group B at Hiroshima, Group C at Hamamatsu and Group D at Sapporo. The Medal Rounds were played at Saitama.


2006 FIBA World Championship, Knockout stage, Final
Since the inaugural competition in 1950 the five competing countries for the title had always been two of Argentina, United States, Soviet Union, Brazil and Yugoslavia, one of which always being either United States or Yugoslavia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia took its place in the finals of 1994 and 1998, and after the breakup of Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia took its place in the finals of 1998 and 2002. The 2006 final was the first in which none of these five teams competed.


2006 FIBA World Championship, Knockout stage, Final
The final was an unexpectedly one-sided affair, with Spain dominating from the beginning and limiting Greece to just 47 points, fewer than the Greeks had scored in any single game in the tournament, and less than half what Greece had scored against the US in the semifinals. Spain won despite having lost power forward Pau Gasol, who was ultimately named the tournament's most valuable player, to injury in a semifinal match against Argentina.


2006 FIBA World Championship Final
The 2006 FIBA World Championship Final was a basketball game between the men's national teams of Greece and the Spain that took place on September 3, 2006, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.


2006 FIBA World Championship Final
It was the first Final appearance for Spain, whose best achievement in the World Cup was the fourth place in 1982. Greece also made its first Final appearance, after finishing fourth in the last two tournaments.


2006 FIBA World Championship Final
Spain won the Final 47–70, and won its first World Cup title. Also, Spain qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics.


2006 FIBA World Championship Final, Match details
Spain had to play the Final without their star player, later to be named tournament MVP, Pau Gasol, who suffered partial fracture of his fifth metatarsal in his left foot in the Semi-final against Argentina. Greece just came off a stunning victory against the United States in their Semi-final.


2006 FIBA World Championship for Women
The 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women took place in Brazil from September 12 to September 23, 2006. It was co-organised by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Confederação Brasileira de Basketball, the Brazilian national federation.


2006 FIBA World Championship for Women
Sixteen national teams competed for the championship. Australia came away with the gold medal by beating Russia 91–74.


2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, Competing nations
Except Brazil, which automatically qualified as the host, and the United States, which automatically qualified as the reigning Olympic champion, the 14 remaining countries qualified through their continents’ qualifying tournaments:


2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, Squads
At the start of tournament, all 16 participating countries each had 12 players on their roster.


2006 FIBA World Championship for Women, Referees
For the World Championship for Women, FIBA selected 25 professional referees:


2006 FIBA World Championship for Women squads
The 2006 FIBA World Championship for Women held in Brazil had the following squads. The list includes the 12-women rosters of 8 teams of the 16 participating countries, totaling 172 players.


2006 FIBA World Championship squads
The 2006 FIBA World Championship squads were the squads of the 2006 FIBA World Championship. The list includes the 12-men rosters of the 24 participating countries, totaling 288 players.


2006 FIBA World Championship squads, Group A, France
NB: Diarra replaced Tony Parker, who suffered a broken finger, just before the 24-hour deadline for submitting final squads.


2006 FIBA World Championship squads, Group B, New Zealand
NB: Ben Hill was put on standby when Mark Dickel tested positive for cannabis after a July match against Australia. However his suspension did not rule him out from any Championship games.


2006 FIBA World Championship squads, Group D, China
NB: Age discrepancies exist for at least two of these players. Yi's age is currently a subject of controversy, with several reports indicating that he was actually born in 1984. Wang Zhizhi's passport lists his year of birth as 1979, but the NBA, where he played for several years, lists him as having been born in 1977.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
The 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, governed by FIFA. Overall, this was the 12th edition of a world cup in beach soccer since the establishment of the Beach Soccer World Championships which ran from 1995–2004 but was not governed by FIFA. It took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 2–12 November 2006.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup
The winners of the tournament were hosts Brazil, who won their first FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup title and their tenth world title overall.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Major changes to format
After the 2005 World Cup, beach soccer continued to grow and spread worldwide at a fast rate. Therefore, FIFA established the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup qualifiers, to try to allow more nations to play in the World Cup, as well as getting more national teams involved in the sport. FIFA also increased the number of participating teams in the World Cup from 12 to a record-high 16 teams. This also meant that nations would no longer be invited to play in the World Cup but would have to qualify.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Major changes to format
With the establishment of the qualifying rounds, FIFA decided to standardise each World Cup, meaning that from this World Cup onwards, each confederation would have the same number of teams participating in each World Cup and that the 16 teams would be split up into four groups of four teams, with the top two teams moving on to the quarter finals.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Qualifying rounds, African zone
African nations were allocated 2 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between September 28 and September 30, 2006. Cameroon and Nigeria were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Cameroon defeated Nigeria in the final to win the title.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Qualifying rounds, Asian zone
Asian nations were allocated 3 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between May 22 and May 26, 2006. Bahrain and Japan were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Bahrain defeated Japan in the final to win the title. Iran and China were knocked out in the semi finals and played each other in the third place play off. Iran beat China to claim the third berth at the World Cup.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Qualifying rounds, European zone
European nations were allocated 5 berths at the World Cup. Instead of having a specific tournament for World Cup qualification, qualification was achieved through the 2006 Euro Beach Soccer League which took place earlier in the year. The nations who made it to the second stage of the Superfinal qualified to the World Cup being Spain, Portugal, Poland and Italy. To decide who would claim the fifth berth, the defeated nations in the competition came back to play in a straight knockout tournament, with the winner progressing to the World Cup. The nation which won the tournament was France who beat Switzerland in the final.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Qualifying rounds, North, Central American and Caribbean zone
North, Central American and Caribbean nations were allocated 2 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between September 13 and September 17, 2006. The United States and Canada were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. The United States defeated Canada in the final to win the title.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Qualifying rounds, Oceanian zone
Oceanian nations were allocated 1 berth at the World Cup. The championship took place between August 31 and September 3, 2006. The Solomon Islands and Vanuatu were the two finalists. The Solomon Islands defeated Vanuatu in the final to win the title and qualify for the World Cup.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Qualifying rounds, South American zone
South American nations were allocated 3 berths at the World Cup. The championship took place between March 5 and March 12, 2006. Brazil and Uruguay were the two finalists, meaning they both qualified for the World Cup. Brazil defeated Uruguay in the final to win the title. Argentina and Venezuela were knocked out in the semi finals and played each other in the third place play off. Argentina beat Venezuela to claim the third berth at the World Cup.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Teams
These are the teams that qualified for the World Cup:


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Venue
As with the previous FIFA editions of the World Cup held in Rio, the tournament once again took place at the Copacabana Beach Soccer Arena.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Group stage
The 16 teams present at the finals in Brazil were split into 4 groups of 4 teams. Each team played the other 3 teams in its group in a round-robin format, with the top two teams advancing to the quarter finals. The quarter finals, semi finals and the final itself was played in the form of a knockout tournament.


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, Group stage
All matches are listed as local time in Rio de Janeiro, (UTC-3)


2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup squads
The 2006 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup was an international beach soccer tournament held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 2 November until 12 November 2006. The 16 national teams involved in the tournament were required to register a squad of 12 players; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup
The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup (officially known as the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament held in Japan between 10 December and 17 December 2006. It was the third FIFA Club World Cup.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup
The club champions from each of the six confederations played in a knockout tournament. The quarter-final match-ups were determined by a draw including the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC champions, while the UEFA and CONMEBOL champions were given byes to the semi-finals. The losers of the quarter-finals would play for the fifth place, while the losers of the semi-finals were to play in a third-place play-off.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup
São Paulo were the defending champions, but could not defend their title after losing the 2006 Copa Libertadores Finals.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup
Brazilian side Internacional won their first title, defeating Spanish club Barcelona 1–0 in the final.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup
A team from the host nation did not participate, as was initially proposed. Following the departure of Australia from the OFC, the Oceanian representative, Auckland City, was fully amateur, so forcing them to play a play-off for a place in the quarter-finals against the J. League champions (Gamba Osaka) was considered, which would have also promoted local interest. The change would have also eliminated the fifth-place play-off, to keep the number of games intact. This was finally rejected, but the tournament format was changed for 2007.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup, Venues
Tokyo, Yokohama and Toyota were the three cities to serve as venues for the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup, Squads
For a list of all the rosters of this tournament, see the article 2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final
The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final took place at the International Stadium Yokohama, Japan on 17 December 2006.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final
The match pitted Internacional of Brazil, the CONMEBOL club champions, against Barcelona of Spain, the UEFA club champions. Internacional won 1–0, after a counter-attack led by Iarley and the goal scored by Adriano Gabiru at the 82nd minute, in a match watched by 67,128 people. In doing so, Internacional won their first FIFA Club World Cup/Intercontinental Cup and Barcelona remained without any world club title. Deco was named as man of the match.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup Final, Match details, Details
Assistant referees:Carlos Pastrana (Honduras)Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)Fourth official:Mohamed Salleh Subkhiddin (Malaysia)


2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads
These are the squads for the 2006 FIFA Club World Cup, which was held in Japan from 10 December to 17 December 2006.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Al Ahly
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Auckland City FC
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Club América
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads, FC Barcelona
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads, Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2006 FIFA Club World Cup squads, SC Internacional
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship
The 2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship was held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006. It was the officially recognized world championship for women's under-20 national association football teams. Matches were held in four Moscow stadiums (Dynamo, Lokomotiv, Podmoskovie Stadium and Torpedo Stadium) and one in Saint Petersburg (Petrovsky Stadium).


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship
This was the third women's world youth championship organized by FIFA, but the first with an age limit of 20. The first two events, held in Canada in 2002 and Thailand in 2004, had an age limit of 19. FIFA changed the age limit to prepare for the creation of an under-17 championship in 2008.


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship
North Korea won the tournament. They became the first Asian team to win a FIFA women's tournament and the first Asian football team to win any FIFA tournaments since Saudi Arabia's triumph in the 1989 FIFA U-16 World Championship.


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, Tournament
The draw for the tournament was held in Moscow's City Hall on 22 March 2006. 14 of the 16 competing teams (the two CAF teams were then still undecided) learned their first-round groupings.


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, Tournament
The 16 participating U-20 women's teams from the six FIFA confederations are:


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, Awards, All star team
Daiane  Coralie Butcher  Babett Peter  Hong Myong-gum  Ri Jin-ok  Ri Un-hyang


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, Awards, All star team
Collette McCallum  Cynthia Uwak  Celia Okoyino Da Mbabi  Kim Kyong-hwa  Kim Chun-hui  Amanda Poach


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, Awards, All star team
Fabiana  Ma Xiaoxu  Amandine Henry  Rita Chikwelu  Kil Son-hui  Elena Danilova  Danesha Adams


2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship squads
This article lists the team squads of the  2006 FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship, held in Russia from 17 August to 3 September 2006.


2006 FIFA World Cup
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 the host nation, Germany, for the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition, the first as a unified country (the other was in 1974 at the then-West Germany), and the tenth time that it was held in Europe.


2006 FIFA World Cup
Italy won the tournament, claiming their fourth World Cup title. They defeated 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, Ghana, 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup
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, with Serbia recognizing 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection
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. 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption allegations
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. 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. 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, would have had to cast the deciding vote.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption allegations
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. 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 Euro in Hyundai, while one of the sons of the company's founders was a member of FIFA's executive committee.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption allegations
Both Volkswagen and Bayer announced investments in Thailand and South Korea, whose respective delegates Worawi Makudi and Chung Jong-Moon were possible voters for Germany. 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 German team and FC Bayern Munich.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption allegations
On 16 October 2015, the 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. The sum of 6.7 million Euro was later demanded back by Dreyfus. In order to retrieve the money, the Organizing Committee paid an equivalent sum to the FIFA, allegedly as a German share for the cost of a closing ceremony, which never materialized.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption allegations
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. During a press conference on 22 October 2015, Nierbach repeated his stance, emphasizing that the 6,7 million were used in 2002 to secure a subsidy by FIFA.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption allegations
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 Franks was registered by FIFA in 2002." 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 Euros went to Mohamed Bin Hammam, who at the time was supporting Blatter's campaign for president against Issa Hayatou.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Host selection, Bribery and corruption allegations
On 22 March 2016 it was announced that the FIFA Ethics Committee was opening proceedings into the bid.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
198 teams attempted to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Germany, the host nation, was granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 31 finals places divided among the continental confederations. 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).


2006 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
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; 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 2018, 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 and Nigeria failed to qualify.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
For the first time since the 1982 World Cup, all six confederations were represented at the finals tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Qualification
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).


2006 FIFA World Cup, Qualification, List of qualified teams
The following 32 teams, shown with final pre-tournament rankings, qualified for the final tournament:


2006 FIFA World Cup, Venues
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Venues
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. 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Venues
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, while the other eight stadia hosted five matches each.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Venues, Team base camps
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Squads
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Seeds
The eight seeded teams for the 2006 tournament were announced on 6 December 2005. The seeds comprised Pot A in 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. A special pot contained Serbia and Montenegro: this was done to ensure that no group contained three European teams. In the special pot, Serbia and Montenegro was drawn first, then their group was drawn from the three seeded non-European nations, Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Seeds
It had been predetermined that, as the host, Germany would be placed in Group A, thus being assured of the venues of their group matches in advance of the draw. FIFA had also announced in advance that Brazil (the defending champion) would be allocated to Group F.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Seeds
Costa Rica  Iran  Japan  Saudi Arabia  South Korea  Trinidad and Tobago  United States


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Seeds
On 9 December 2005 the draw was held, 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. Argentina and the Netherlands both qualified with a game to spare with wins over Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro respectively.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Group system
The first round, or group stage, saw the thirty-two 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Group system, Ranking criteria
If teams were level on points, they were ranked on the following criteria in order:


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Group system, Ranking criteria
In the original version of the rules for the final 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Groups, Group system, Ranking criteria
In any event, the final 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament
The finals tournament of the 2006 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Hosting
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 flag waving, traditionally frowned upon by German society since World War II, whenever the German team played. 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Traditional powers dominate
Despite early success by Australia, Ecuador and Ghana, the tournament marked a return to dominance of the traditional football powers. Four years after a 2002 tournament in which teams from North America (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 none of the quarter-finalists were from outside Europe or South America. Six former champions took part in the quarter-final round, with Ukraine and Euro 2004 runners-up Portugal as the only relative outsiders. 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).


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Scoring
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Scoring
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Scoring
For the first time ever in the FIFA World Cup, the first and last goals of the tournament were scored by defenders. Philipp Lahm, the German left wingback, scored the opener against Costa Rica after only 5 minutes of the opening match. In the final, Marco Materazzi, the Italian centre back, out-jumped Patrick Vieira and headed in the last goal of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In addition, Fabio Grosso clinched the Cup for Italy with the decisive spot kick in the penalty shootout.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Unprecedented number of cards
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Unprecedented number of cards
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Finals tournament, Unprecedented number of cards
The high number of yellow and red cards shown also prompted discussion about the referees. FIFA Officials and President Sepp Blatter received criticism for allegedly making rules too rigid and taking discretion away from referees.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group A
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group B
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group C
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group D
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 in 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group E
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group F
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group G
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Group stage, Group H
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage
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. Scores after extra time are indicated by (aet), and penalty shoot-outs are indicated by (pen. ).


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Round of 16
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 Italians were awarded a controversial penalty, scored by Francesco Totti, deep into the remaining seconds of the match. The Italians had spent much of the game with only ten men on the field, following an equally controversial red card shown to centre back Marco Materazzi.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Round of 16
In a 0–0 match, described in The Guardian as "the dullest game in World Cup history", 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).


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Round of 16
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. 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
Germany and Argentina ended 1–1 after extra time; the hosts edged out the Argentinians 4–2 on penalties to go through to the semifinals (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).


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Quarter-finals
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
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).


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Semi-finals
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Third place play-off
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Third place play-off
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Final
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, 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. Marco Materazzi then levelled the scores in the 19th minute following an Andrea Pirlo corner.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Final
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Final
At the end of the regulation 90 minutes, the score was still level at 1–1, and the match was forced 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Results, Knockout stage, Final
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Goalscorers
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Awards
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, Agustin Delgado, Arjen Robben, Zé Roberto, Alexander Frei, Michael Ballack, and Patrick Vieira each received two awards.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, All-star team
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, All-star team
Roberto Ayala John Terry Lilian Thuram Philipp Lahm Fabio Cannavaro Gianluca Zambrotta Ricardo Carvalho


2006 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, All-star team
Zé Roberto Patrick Vieira Zinedine Zidane Michael Ballack Andrea Pirlo Gennaro Gattuso Francesco Totti Luís Figo Maniche


2006 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Prize money
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. Below is a complete list of the prize money allocated:


2006 FIFA World Cup, Statistics, Final standings
All 32 teams are ranked based on criteria which have been used by FIFA. A penalty shoot-out counts as a draw for both teams.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
In the preparation for 2006 FIFA World Cup FIFA and the Organizing Committee sought a way to accommodate people planning to visit the World Cup. The experience of past World Cups and public viewing was conceptualized in 4-weeks long events for football supporters to meet, board, interact, partake in cultural activities and watch all 64 games on giant video walls.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
Since 2004 the details on costs, logistics, safety issues, marketing and broadcast rights were jointly hammered out by FIFA and the Host Cities Those public viewing events that became known under the name of Fan Fests, served an idea to provide football supporters without tickets a legitimate opportunity to partake in the World Cup. Unlike the past tournaments where ticketless fans were treated as security risks, the World Cup in Germany welcomed all football 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
Fan Fests for 2006 FIFA 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). Berlin "Fanmeile" located at pedestrianized Straße des 17. Juni between Brandenburg Gate and Victory Column with 14 consecutive video walls attracted 9 million fans over the duration of World Cup with nearly 1 million supporters each German football team game. For the first time in German history an event scored more visitors than Oktoberfest.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
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 per Dortmund and Munich, 500 thousands per Nuremberg and Hannover, 471 thousands in Leipzig, 350 thousands in Gelsenkirchen and 205 thousands 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
The most popular Fan Fests were located in the inner city areas and the approach to keep the city centre generally "fan free" applied by the authorities of Nurenberg proved ineffective as many football supporters preferred to stay in the picturesque city centre. According to surveys conducted during the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the Fan Fests at Berlin, Frankfurt and Munich 28% of visitors travelled over 100 kilometers to attend to event and up to 84% came there together with friends.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
Around 21% of foreigners interviewed at Fan Fests visited Germany to see the World Cup without tickets to any game. Media coverage of events had an additional positive effect as pictures of fans celebrating in front of giant screens attracted even more visitors from neighboring European countries that spontaneously decided to take part in celebrations at Fan Fests.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
Despite minor inconsistencies in planning and execution the Fan Fest concept was so successful, so numerous people later claimed personal responsibility for the invention. The visitors' expectations regarding Fan Fests were fulfilled. Over the duration of 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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
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 German Word of the Year. In 2007 FIFA and 12 Host Cities had received the German Marketing Prize for Sports for the innovative nature and marketing concept of Fan Fests during the 2006 World Cup Finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Fan Fest
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. 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 2006 World Cup FIFA announced that it registered the trademark for Fan Fests, takes over the organization and marketing and makes Fan Fests an integral part of future FIFA World Cups.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Sponsorship
The sponsors of the 2006 World Cup consisted of 15 FIFA Partners.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Evaluation of Germany as host nation
Not only in its organisation was the 2006 World Cup the best in history, as FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated, above all Germany could portray itself as a worthy host through its enthusiastic and hospitable public. Through the many fanfests and large-screen broadcasts, the feeling of a four-week national festival developed, in which many of the population took part.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Evaluation of Germany as host nation
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. 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". This continued a development already observed during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. A study by the University of Marburg suggested a slight rise in national pride. However, sporadic attempts of far right organisations to use the tournament as a platform for their propaganda remained unsuccessful.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Evaluation of Germany as host nation
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Evaluation of Germany as host nation
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup, Evaluation of Germany as host nation
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.


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game)
2006 FIFA World Cup (known as FIFA World Cup: Germany 2006) is the official video game for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports. 2006 FIFA World Cup was released simultaneously on all major sixth-generation platforms (Game Boy Advance, GameCube, PlayStation 2 and Xbox), as well as Microsoft Windows, Nintendo DS and Xbox 360 on 24 April 2006 in North America and four days later in Europe, with ports to mobile phones and the PlayStation Portable weeks later. This was the last game released for the Xbox in Asia. There are ten region-specific covers that feature a major player from each region.


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game)
Microsoft bundled the game with the Xbox 360 in Japan and Europe. It was also bundled with the pre-release order version introduced in India during the days when World Cup fever gripped the nation. In this featured bundle, there was a limited edition faceplate included from Adidas packaged inside.


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Playable teams
The game contains 127 playable teams. Despite licensing issues between EA and the KNVB and Japan Football Federation, Japan and the Netherlands are fully licensed with real names and kits.


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Playable teams
1 - Must be placed in qualifiers manually2 - Now split into  Serbia and  Montenegro


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Playable teams
3 - Old Flags in the game4 - Australia is now in the AFC; however, at the time they played in the OFC


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Gameplay
The game allows players to participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany by taking control of one of 127 national teams. Since the release of the game 2002 FIFA World Cup, the menus have been redesigned and have more options. It even includes a satellite map when choosing countries to play in a Friendly. Online support is provided for ranked and unranked matches on most non-Nintendo platforms. The online service provides lobbies, leaderboards and a global challenge mode where the player can play through over forty historical World Cup scenarios, with the opportunity to explore alternate outcomes for each one.


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Gameplay
By playing online and in single-player mode, spending points for the virtual store are earned, where players can purchase uniforms, historical players, various footballs, boots, and gameplay options. As with the previous World Cup video game, matches in World Cup mode are played in the same order as at the World Cup in Germany.


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Reception
The PC, Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube versions received "generally favorable reviews", while the Xbox 360, PSP, DS and Game Boy Advance versions received "mixed or average reviews" according to video game review aggregator Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave the PS2 version a score of three eights and one seven for a total of 31 out of 40.


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Reception
The Times gave the PS2 version a score of four stars out of five and stated that "The classic moment section, which features 125 well-known situations, is one of several nice touches in this game. "The A.V. Club gave the game a B and said that it "supplies just enough vicarious excitement to bridge the gap between now and early June."


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Reception
Detroit Free Press gave the X360 version three stars out of four and stated: "Thankfully for the folks at Electronic Arts, the only soccer competition available on the Xbox 360 is the previous FIFA game, and this World Cup edition is a step up from that incarnation, albeit a small one." However, The Sydney Morning Herald gave the game three-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "a fun football simulation for newcomers and the best FIFA of recent years. Even so, competitor "Pro Evolution" still has the virtual World Cup firmly in its grasp."


2006 FIFA World Cup (video game), Reception
IGN gave the Mobile version a score of 5.8 out of 10 and called it "a stop-gap product designed to reel in World Cup fans based on the hype of the world's biggest sporting event. And that's not necessarily a bad idea -- having the entire tournament set up from the get-go -- but the execution isn't worth your download dollars."


2006 FIFA World Cup Final
The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, to determine the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The match was contested between Italy and France.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final
Italy won the World Cup after beating France 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw at the conclusion of extra time. The match had been surrounded mostly around France's Zinedine Zidane and Italy's Marco Materazzi: this was the last match for the former for France, both were scorers in the final, and also embroiled in an incident in extra time that led to Zidane's sending off after he headbutted Materazzi. The incident was the subject of much analysis following the match. Italy's Andrea Pirlo was awarded the Man of the Match, and Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final
The final served as a key match in the France–Italy football rivalry, coming after Italy were defeated by France in the UEFA Euro 2000 Final. Italy's victory was their first world title in 24 years, and their fourth overall, putting them one ahead of Germany and only one behind Brazil. The victory also led to Italy topping the FIFA World Rankings in February 2007 for the first time since November 1993.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Venue
The Olympiastadion in Berlin was used as the venue for the final, as well as five other matches over the tournament. It was also used for three matches at the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The current Olympiastadion was built for the 1936 Summer Olympics in the western part of the city. Since 1985, the stadium has hosted the finals of both the DFB-Pokal and its female equivalent. The Olympiastadion hosts the Internationales Stadionfest, which was an IAAF Golden League event from 1998 to 2009. The stadium hosted the 2009 World Championships in Athletics. Aside from its use as an Olympic stadium, the Olympiastadion has a strong footballing tradition, having been the home of Hertha BSC since 1963.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
Italy's first official match as a national team was against France on 15 May 1910, and the two countries developed a football rivalry. They have faced each other in several world-stage tournaments, including previous World Cups in 1938 (3–1 Italy), 1978 (2–1 Italy), 1986 (2–0 France), and 1998 (4–3 in penalty-shootout to France). Most recently, they had contested the UEFA Euro 2000 Final, which ended in a 2–1 France victory after a golden goal in extra time by David Trezeguet.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
The match was the sixth FIFA World Cup final for Italy, and the second for France. Italy had won three of their previous finals (1934, 1938, 1982), losing two (1970, 1994), while France had won their only previous final (1998). It was the first final since 1978 in which neither Germany nor Brazil competed (and only the second since 1938); it was also the first all-European final since Italy won the World Cup in 1982, and the second final to be decided by a penalty shoot-out (1994 was the first, with Italy losing to Brazil on that occasion).


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Background
In April 2006, France's Zinedine Zidane, who also played for Spanish league side Real Madrid, announced his retirement from football, saying his playing career would end after the World Cup. In May 2006, a match-fixing scandal in Italy's Serie A league was uncovered, mainly surrounding Juventus, a team to which five of the national squad players belonged.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Italy
Italy's campaign in the tournament was accompanied by open pessimism due to the controversy caused by the Serie A scandal. Italy were drawn in Group E alongside Ghana, the United States, and Czech Republic, opening against Ghana on 12 June 2006. Italy took the lead through midfielder Andrea Pirlo in the 40th minute, eventually winning the match by a score of 2–0.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Italy
In their next match against the United States on 17 June, Italy took the lead in the 22nd minute with an Alberto Gilardino goal, but five minutes later, Cristian Zaccardo scored an own goal off an attempted clearance following a free-kick, and the match eventually remained a 1–1 draw; this was one of only two goals Italy conceded throughout the tournament. In that match, Daniele De Rossi received a straight red card after he elbowed Brian McBride in the face; he left the pitch bloodied, but returned after treatment, later receiving three stitches.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Italy
De Rossi later apologised to McBride, who subsequently praised him as "classy" for approaching him after the match. Because of the incident, De Rossi was banned for four matches, and was fined CHF 10,000. Their third and final group stage match was against Czech Republic on 22 June. Marco Materazzi, who had begun the tournament as a reserve player, came on as a replacement for Alessandro Nesta who suffered an injury in the match. Materazzi went on to score a goal in the match, and was named Man of the Match of an eventual 2–0 win, finishing top of the group with seven points.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Italy
In the round of 16, on 26 June, Italy took on Australia in a match in which Materazzi was controversially sent off in the 53rd minute after an attempted two-footed tackle on Australian midfielder Marco Bresciano. In stoppage time, a controversial penalty kick was awarded to Italy when referee Luis Medina Cantalejo ruled that Lucas Neill fouled Fabio Grosso. Francesco Totti converted the kick into the upper corner of the goal past Mark Schwarzer for a 1–0 win.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Italy
In the quarter-final, on 30 June, Italy took on Ukraine, and Gianluca Zambrotta opened the scoring early in the 6th minute with a left-footed shot from outside the penalty area after a quick exchange with Totti created enough space. Luca Toni added two more goals for Italy in the second half, but as Ukraine pressed forward, they were unable to score. Ukraine had hit the crossbar, had several shots saved by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, and were denied a goal from a goal-line clearance from Zambrotta, ultimately ending in a 3–0 win for Italy.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, Italy
In the semi-final on 4 July, Italy beat hosts Germany 2–0 with the two goals coming in the last two minutes of extra time. After a back-and-forth half-hour of extra time, during which Gilardino and Zambrotta struck the post and the crossbar respectively, Grosso scored in the 119th minute after a disguised Pirlo pass found him open in the penalty area for a bending left-footed shot into the far corner past German goalkeeper Jens Lehmann's dive. Substitute striker Alessandro Del Piero then sealed the victory by scoring with the last kick of the game at the end of a swift counterattack by Fabio Cannavaro, Totti and Gilardino.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
France were drawn in Group G alongside Switzerland, South Korea, and Togo, opening against Switzerland on 13 June 2006. The match ended in a scoreless draw. In their next match against South Korea on 18 June, France took the lead in the 9th minute after Thierry Henry picked up Sylvain Wiltord's deflected shot. Later, a header by Patrick Vieira crossed the goal-line after being blocked by Korean goalkeeper Lee Woon-Jae, but referee Benito Archundia did not give the goal, and with about 10 minutes left, Park Ji-sung scored for Korea for an eventual 1–1 draw.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
Their third and final group stage match was against Togo on 23 June, and France needed a victory to progress from the group stage. After a goalless first half, Vieira and Henry scored two second half goals within six minutes of each other to win 2–0, and finish second in the group with five points.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
In the round of 16, on 27 June, France took on Spain in a match in which Spain took the lead in the first half with a penalty kick converted by David Villa after Lilian Thuram fouled Pablo. Four minutes before half time, Franck Ribéry equalised the score, and with seven minutes before the end of regulation time, Vieira scored from a header for France to take the lead. As Spain pushed forward to find an equaliser, Zinedine Zidane scored in a solo effort in stoppage time, for a final score of 3–1 for France.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Road to the final, France
In the quarter-final, on 1 July, France took on Brazil; France won with a lone goal in the 57th minute by Henry after he volleyed a Zidane free kick to end Brazil's reign as world champions. In the semi-final, on 5 July, France won again with a lone goal, this time from a first half Zidane penalty kick after Henry was tripped inside the box by Ricardo Carvalho.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match
The official match ball for the final was the + Teamgeist Berlin, a gold-coloured variation of the Adidas Teamgeist, which was unveiled on 18 April 2006. The Adidas Teamgeist was used as the official match ball throughout the tournament, provided by German sports equipment company Adidas.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match
On 6 July 2006, the Argentine Horacio Elizondo was chosen as referee for the final, beating out the German Markus Merk and the Slovakian Lubos Michel. Elizondo became a referee in 1994, and refereed his first international match in 1996. His compatriots, Dario Garcia and Rodolfo Otero, were chosen as assistant referees, and the Spanish Luis Medina Cantalejo as fourth official. Elizondo had given England striker Wayne Rooney a red card against Portugal previously in the tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match
Italy's team doctor Enrico Castellacci confirmed on 6 July that Alessandro Nesta was ruled out of the final due to a groin injury he sustained against the Czech Republic on 22 June; France reported no injuries.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Pre-match
Before the match started, a closing ceremony was organised by FIFA, lasting about 10 minutes, was performed by Il Divo singing their song "The Time of Our Lives", the official song of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, as well as Shakira and Wyclef Jean singing a rendition of their song "Hips Don't Lie".


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
The final started with each side scoring within the first 20 minutes. After French player Florent Malouda went down in the box under contact from Marco Materazzi, Elizondo awarded a penalty kick. Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring when he converted this kick in the 7th minute with a Panenka that glanced off the underside of the crossbar and into the goal. Materazzi redeemed himself for Italy when he levelled the score in the 19th minute, a header from an Andrea Pirlo corner. In the 35th minute, Luca Toni struck the crossbar with a header from another Pirlo corner. At half time, the score was level at 1–1.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
The beginning of the second half was largely controlled by France, also having a penalty shout early on when Malouda was brought to ground in the box by Gianluca Zambrotta. Patrick Vieira was replaced by Alou Diarra in the 58th minute due to an apparent hamstring injury. In the 62nd minute, Toni headed a goal that was disallowed for offside from a Pirlo free kick. After the 90 minutes of regulation time, the score was still level at 1–1, forcing the match into extra time.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
In the 104th minute, Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made a potentially game-saving save when he tipped a Zidane header over the crossbar that had been crossed in from Willy Sagnol. Five minutes later, Zidane and Materazzi were jogging up the pitch alongside each other. They briefly exchanged words and Materazzi pulled at Zidane's jersey; this provoked Zidane to headbutt Materazzi's chest, knocking him to the ground. As the game play had switched direction, Buffon protested to the assistant referee who did not see what had happened.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
When the play returned and referee Elizondo saw Materazzi on the ground, he halted play to consult his assistants. According to match officials' reports, the referee and his assistants did not see what had transpired, however, Elizondo consulted fourth official Luis Medina Cantalejo via headset, who confirmed the incident. Elizondo then issued Zidane a red card in the 110th minute. It marked the 14th overall expulsion of Zidane's career, and meant he joined Cameroon's Rigobert Song as the only players ever to be sent off during two separate World Cup tournaments. He also became the fourth player red-carded in a World Cup final, in addition to being the first sent off in extra time.