2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Summary
After extra time, the score was still level at 1–1, forcing the match into a penalty shoot-out. France's David Trezeguet, who had scored the golden goal against Italy in the UEFA Euro 2000 Final, was the only player not to score his penalty after his kick hit the crossbar, shot down after its impact, and stayed just ahead of the goal-line. Fabio Grosso—who scored Italy's first goal in the semi-final against Germany—scored the winning penalty; Italy won by a score of 5–3.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Details
Assistant referees:Dario García (Argentina)Rodolfo Otero (Argentina)Fourth official:Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)Fifth official:Victoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain)


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Match, Viewership
According to FIFA, 715.1 million individuals globally watched the final match of this tournament. IPG's independent media agency Initiative Worldwide estimated a 260 million people viewership. The independent firm Initiative Futures Sport + Entertainment estimates it at 322 million viewers.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
German president Horst Köhler, UEFA president Lennart Johansson, and the local organizing committee president Franz Beckenbauer were among those present on the pitch stage during the awards ceremony. President Köhler handed the trophy to Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro without FIFA president Sepp Blatter's presence. As Cannavaro raised the trophy, a short version of Patrizio Buanne's "Stand Up (Champions Theme)" was played. The victory also led to Italy topping the FIFA World Rankings in February 2007 for the first time since November 1993. Pirlo was awarded the Man of the Match.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match
The day after the final, Zidane was awarded the Golden Ball as the player of the tournament. The Italy team celebrated their victory with a parade in Rome the day after the final on 10 July, attended by 500,000 people, the team traveled to the Circus Maximus. The team also met with President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi, where all members of the World Cup-winning squad were awarded the Italian Order of Merit of Cavaliere Ufficiale.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match, Provocation of Zidane analysis
After video evidence suggested that Materazzi had verbally provoked Zidane that led to the headbutt, three British media newspapers claimed to have hired lip readers to determine what Materazzi had said, with The Times, The Sun and Daily Star claiming that Materazzi called Zidane "the son of a terrorist whore". Materazzi disputed this claim, eventually winning public apologies from The Sun and Daily Star in 2008, as well as libel damages from all three British newspapers.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match, Provocation of Zidane analysis
Zidane only partly explained that repeated harsh insults about his mother had caused him to react. Materazzi admitted trash talking Zidane, but argued that Zidane's behaviour had been very arrogant and that the remarks were trivial. Materazzi also insisted that he did not insult Zidane's mother (who was ill at the time), claiming, "I didn't talk about his mother, either. I lost my mother when I was fifteen, and even now I still get emotional talking about it".


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match, Provocation of Zidane analysis
Zidane later said that he did not regret his actions because "it would be like admitting that he was right to say all that". Materazzi offered his version of events two months later claiming that after he had grabbed Zidane's jersey, Zidane remarked, "If you want my shirt, I will give it to you afterwards", and he replied to Zidane that he would prefer his sister, but claimed during the interview that he was unaware Zidane even had a sister. Over a year after the incident, Materazzi confirmed that his precise words to Zidane were: "I prefer the whore that is your sister".


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match, Reactions
After the final, then-President of France Jacques Chirac hailed Zidane as a "man of heart and conviction". Chirac later added that he found the offence to be unacceptable, but he understood that Zidane had been provoked. The French public showed support for Zidane's actions; polls done in the immediate wake of the incident showed 61% of French people said they had already forgiven him for his actions while 52% said they understood them. However, French newspaper Le Figaro called the headbutt "odious" and "unacceptable". Time magazine regarded the incident as a symbol for Europe's "grappling with multi-culturalism". Despite the ongoing furore, Zidane's sponsors announced that they would stick with him.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match, Reactions
The incident was extensively lampooned on the Internet and in popular culture. Family Guy parodied it in the episode "Saving Private Brian", in which Zidane headbutts an old lady while delivering her a birthday cake. The Simpsons parodied it in the episode "Marge Gamer", in which Homer Simpson shouts "Zidane! ", when headbutting the linesman. In addition to becoming a staple of parody via numerous online videos and GIFs, a novelty song titled Coup de Boule ("Headbutt") reached the top of the French charts. A sculpture of the incident was unveiled in 2012.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match, Reactions
In light of Zidane's statements, FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings to investigate the incident. FIFA also affirmed the legality of Elizondo's decision to send Zidane off, rejecting claims that Cantalejo had illegally relied on video transmission to make a decision about handling Zidane's misconduct. FIFA issued a CHF 5,000 fine and a two-match ban against Materazzi, while Zidane received a three-match ban and a CHF 7,500 fine. Since Zidane had already retired, he voluntarily served three days of community service on FIFA's behalf as a substitute for the match ban.


2006 FIFA World Cup Final, Post-match, Reactions
In October 2009, in an interview conducted on French radio station RTL, Zidane stated: "Let's not forget that provocation is a terrible thing. I have never been one to provoke; I have never done it. It's terrible, and it is best not to react". However, he later said in 2015, "If you look at the 14 red cards I had in my career, 12 of them were a result of provocation. This isn't justification, this isn't an excuse, but my passion, temper and blood made me react." In 2010, Zidane had said that he would "rather die than apologise" to Materazzi for the headbutt in the final, but also admitted that he "could never have lived with himself" had he been allowed to remain on the pitch and help France win the match.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A
Play in Group A of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 9 June and completed on 20 June 2006. Germany won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Ecuador. Poland and Costa Rica were eliminated.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Germany vs Costa Rica
After just six minutes, Philipp Lahm put Germany in front with a curling shot from outside the penalty area that beat José Porras and flew into the top corner. However, Costa Rica's Paulo Wanchope equalized minutes later after breaching the German defence. Germany retained their lead five minutes later when Miroslav Klose shot in Bernd Schneider's cross. Klose netted his second goal just after the hour-mark, putting in the  rebound after his own header was parried by Porras.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Germany vs Costa Rica
However, after 12 minutes Costa Rica again cut the deficit with Wanchope scoring past Jens Lehmann with a composed finish after receiving a Walter Centeno's cross, although the German players believed Wanchope was offside. The Germans sealed the victory three minutes from time with Torsten Frings firing in a long-range shot that beat Porras in similar fashion to Lahm's goal. Frings' goal is considered as one of the tournament's best.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Germany vs Costa Rica
Assistant referee:Darío García (Argentina)Rodolfo Otero (Argentina)Fourth official:Carlos Chandía (Chile)Fifth official:Cristian Julio (Chile)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Poland vs Ecuador
Assistant referees:Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)Kim Dae-young (Korea Republic)Fourth official:Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia)Fifth official:Roman Slysko (Slovakia)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Germany vs Poland
Assistant referees:Victoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain)Pedro Medina Hernández (Spain)Fourth official:Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)Fifth official:Fathi Arabati (Jordan)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Ecuador vs Costa Rica
Assistant referees:Celestin Ntagungira (Rwanda)Aboudou Aderodjou (Benin)Fourth official:Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco)Fifth official:Brahim Djezzar (Algeria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Ecuador vs Germany
Assistant referees:Nikolay Golubev (Russia)Evgueni Volnin (Russia)Fourth official:Kevin Stott (United States)Fifth official:Chris Strickland (United States)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group A, Matches, Costa Rica vs Poland
Assistant referees:Prachya Permpanich (Thailand)Eisa Ghoulom (United Arab Emirates)Fourth official:Jerome Damon (South Africa)Fifth official:Justice Yeboah (Ghana)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group B
Play in Group B of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 10 June and completed on 20 June 2006. England won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Sweden. Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago were eliminated.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, England vs Paraguay
Assistant referees:José Luis Camargo (Mexico)Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)Fourth official:Coffi Codjia (Benin)Fifth official:Celestin Ntagungira (Rwanda)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Trinidad & Tobago vs Sweden
Assistant referees:Prachya Permpanich (Thailand)Eisa Gholoum (United Arab Emirates)Fourth official:Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)Fifth official:Fernando Tamayo (Ecuador)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, England vs Trinidad & Tobago
Assistant referees:Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)Kim Dae-young (South Korea)Fourth official:Kevin Stott (United States)Fifth official:Chris Strickland (United States)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Sweden vs Paraguay
Assistant referees:Roman Slysko (Slovakia)Martin Balko (Slovakia)Fourth official:Jerome Damon (South Africa)Fifth official:Enock Molefe (South Africa)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Sweden vs England
Assistant referees:Francesco Buragina (Switzerland)Matthias Arnet (Switzerland)Fourth official:Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)Fifth official:Fathi Arabati (Jordan)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group B, Matches, Paraguay vs Trinidad & Tobago
Assistant referees:Cristiano Copelli (Italy)Alessandro Stagnelli (Italy)Fourth official:Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium)Fifth official:Peter Hermans (Belgium)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C
Play in Group C of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 10 June and completed on 21 June 2006. Argentina won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Netherlands. The two sides tied for points in the standings, but Argentina won the tie-break on goal difference, and so won the group with the Netherlands in second place. Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro failed to advance.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C
Upon completion of the draw for the tournament, many football pundits remarked that this group appeared to be the group of death, despite the fact that only one side – Argentina – had qualified for the previous World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, Argentina vs Ivory Coast
Assistant referees:Peter Hermans (Belgium)Walter Vromans (Belgium)Fourth official:Éric Poulat (France)Fifth official:Vincent Texier (France)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, Serbia and Montenegro vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Christian Schräer (Germany)Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)Fourth official:Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco)Fifth official:Brahim Djezzar (Algeria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, Argentina vs Serbia and Montenegro
Assistant referees:Cristiano Copelli (Italy)Alessandro Stagnoli (Italy)Fourth official:Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)Fifth official:Dramane Danté (Mali)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, Netherlands vs Ivory Coast
Assistant referees:José Navia (Colombia)Fernando Tamayo (Ecuador)Fourth official:Marco Rodríguez (Mexico)Fifth official:José Luis Camargo (Mexico)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, Netherlands vs Argentina
Assistant referees:Victoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain)Pedro Medina Hernández (Spain)Fourth official:Carlos Chandia (Chile)Fifth official:Rodrigo González (Chile)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group C, Matches, Ivory Coast vs Serbia and Montenegro
Assistant referees:José Luis Camargo (Mexico)Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)Fourth official:Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco)Fifth official:Brahim Djezzar (Algeria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group D
Play in Group D of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 11 June and completed on 21 June 2006. Portugal won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Mexico. Angola and Iran failed to advance.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Mexico vs Iran
Assistant referees:Cristiano Copelli (Italy)Alessandro Stagnoli (Italy)Fourth official:Jerome Damon (South Africa)Fifth official:Enock Molefe (South Africa)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Angola vs Portugal
Assistant referees:Wálter Rial (Uruguay)Pablo Fandino (Uruguay)Fourth official:Kevin Stott (United States)Fifth official:Chris Strickland (United States)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Mexico vs Angola
Assistant referees:Prachya Permpanich (Thailand)Eisa Ghoulum (United Arab Emirates)Fourth official:Carlos Chandía (Chile)Fifth official:Rodrigo González (Chile)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Portugal vs Iran
Assistant referees:Lionel Dagorne (France)Vincent Texier (France)Fourth official:Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco)Fifth official:Brahim Djezzar (Algeria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Portugal vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Roman Slysko (Slovakia)Martin Balko (Slovakia)Fourth official:Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)Fifth official:Mamadou N'Doye (Senegal)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group D, Matches, Iran vs Angola
Assistant referees:Nathan Gibson (Australia)Ben Wilson (Australia)Fourth official:Carlos Simon (Brazil)Fifth official:Aristeu Tavares (Brazil)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E
Play in Group E of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 12 June and completed on 22 June 2006. Eventual champions Italy won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Ghana. The Czech Republic and the United States failed to advance.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, United States vs Czech Republic
Assistant referees:Amelio Andino (Paraguay)Bernal Manuel (Paraguay)Fourth official:Carlos Chandía (Chile)Fifth official:Rodrigo González (Chile)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Italy vs Ghana
Assistant referees:Aristeu Tavares (Brazil)Ednílson Corona (Brazil)Fourth official:Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)Fifth official:Hamdi Al Kadri (Syria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Czech Republic vs Ghana
Tomáš Ujfaluši was sent off in the 65th minute after tripping Matthew Amoah in the penalty box from behind. Asamoah Gyan took the penalty kick but struck the post, and then received a yellow card for taking the shot without the referee's permission.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Czech Republic vs Ghana
Assistant referees:Darío García (Argentina)Rodolfo Otero (Argentina)Fourth official:Jerome Damon (South Africa)Fifth official:Enock Molefe (South Africa)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Italy vs United States
Italy midfielder Daniele De Rossi was sent off in the 28th minute after elbowing U.S. striker Brian McBride in a rash challenge that left the American with blood all over his face and requiring three stitches under his left eye. FIFA banned De Rossi for four matches (allowing him to return in the final) and fined him 10,000 CHF (£4,500).


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Italy vs United States
Assistant referees:Wálter Rial (Uruguay)Pablo Fandino (Uruguay)Fourth official:Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)Fifth official:Hamdi Al Kadri (Syria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Czech Republic vs Italy
Assistant referees:José Ramírez (Mexico)Héctor Vergara (Canada)Fourth official:Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)Fifth official:José Navia (Colombia)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group E, Matches, Ghana vs United States
Assistant referees:Christian Schräer (Germany)Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)Fourth official:Toru Kamikawa (Japan)Fifth official:Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group F
Play in Group F of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 12 June and completed on 22 June 2006. Brazil won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Australia receiving runner-up in the group. Croatia and Japan failed to advance. Australia's win against Japan is the first (and so far only) time a team from the Oceania Football Confederation has won a game at the tournament. Australia were representing the Asian Football Confederation in their only other World Cup victory against Serbia in 2010.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Australia vs Japan
Assistant referees:Dramane Danté (Mali)Mamadou N'Doye (Senegal)Fourth official:Éric Poulat (France)Fifth official:Vincent Texier (France)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Brazil vs Croatia
Assistant referees:José Ramírez (Mexico)Héctor Vergara (Canada)Fourth official:Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco)Fifth official:Brahim Djezzar (Algeria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Japan vs Croatia
Assistant referees:Peter Hermans (Belgium)Walter Vromans (Belgium)Fourth official:Kevin Stott (United States)Fifth official:Gregory Barkey (United States)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Brazil vs Australia
Assistant referees:Christian Schräer (Germany)Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany)Fourth official:Marco Rodríguez (Mexico)Fifth official:Leonel Leal (Costa Rica)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Japan vs Brazil
Assistant referees:Lionel Dagorne (France)Vincent Texier (France)Fourth official:Jerome Damon (South Africa)Fifth official:Enock Molefe (South Africa)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group F, Matches, Croatia vs Australia
Assistant referees:Philip Sharp (England)Glen Turner (England)Fourth official:Kevin Stott (United States)Fifth official:Gregory Barkey (United States)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G
Play in Group G of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 13 June and completed on 23 June 2006. Switzerland won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with eventual tournament runners-up France. South Korea and Togo failed to advance. Switzerland were the only team not to concede a goal during the group stage of the tournament and would become the first team to be knocked out of a World Cup without conceding, losing on penalties after a 0–0 draw with Ukraine in Round of 16.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, South Korea vs Togo
Assistant referees:Philip Sharp (England)Glen Turner (England)Fourth official:Jerome Damon (South Africa)Fifth official:Justice Yeboah (Ghana)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, France vs Switzerland
In this match, and after a streak of twenty-two matches conceding goals, Switzerland achieved their first clean sheet in their history, and eventually became the first team in history to leave a FIFA World Cup without conceding a single goal.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, France vs Switzerland
Assistant referees:Nikolay Golubev (Russia)Evgueni Volnin (Russia)Fourth official:Kevin Stott (United States)Fifth official:Gregory Barkey (United States)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, France vs South Korea
Assistant referees:José Ramírez (Mexico)Héctor Vergara (Canada)Fourth official:Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)Fifth official:Mamadou N'Doye (Senegal)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, Togo vs Switzerland
Assistant referees:Amelio Andino (Paraguay)Manuel Bernal (Paraguay)Fourth official:Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco)Fifth official:Brahim Djezzar (Algeria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, Togo vs France
Assistant referees:Wálter Rial (Uruguay)Pablo Fandino (Uruguay)Fourth official:Carlos Chandia (Chile)Fifth official:Rodrigo González (Chile)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group G, Matches, Switzerland vs South Korea
Assistant referees:Darío García  (Argentina)Rodolfo Otero (Argentina)Fourth official:Essam Abd El Fatah (Egypt)Fifth official:Dramane Danté (Mali)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group H
Play in Group H of the 2006 FIFA World Cup began on 14 June and completed on 23 June 2006. Spain won the group, and advanced to the second round, along with Ukraine. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia failed to advance.


2006 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Spain vs Ukraine
Assistant referees:Francesco Buragina (Switzerland)Matthias Arnet (Switzerland)Fourth official:Roberto Rosetti (Italy)Fifth official:Cristiano Copelli (Italy)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia
Assistant referees:Nathan Gibson (Australia)Ben Wilson (Australia)Fourth official:Carlos Chandía (Chile)Fifth official:Christian Julio (Chile)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Saudi Arabia vs Ukraine
Assistant referees:Philip Sharp (England)Glenn Turner (England)Fourth official:Toru Kamikawa (Japan)Fifth official:Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Spain vs Tunisia
Assistant referees:Aristeu Tavares (Brazil)Ednílson Corona (Brazil)Fourth official:Carlos Chandía (Chile)Fifth official:Christian Julio (Chile)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Saudi Arabia vs Spain
Assistant referees:Celestin Ntagungira (Rwanda)Aboudou Aderodjou (Benin)Fourth official:Mohamed Guezzaz (Morocco)Fifth official:Brahim Djezzar (Algeria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Group H, Matches, Ukraine vs Tunisia
Assistant referees:Amelio Andino (Paraguay)Manuel Bernal (Paraguay)Fourth official:Marco Rodríguez (Mexico)Fifth official:Hamdi Al Kadri (Syria)


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee
The 2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee (German: Organisationkomitee, OK) organized the World Cup in Germany. President of OK was Franz Beckenbauer, who also acted as the official representative and chairman of the German World Cup bid.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee
First Vice President and Vice President of the World Cup Committee was Horst R. Schmidt, the general secretary of the German Football Association (German: Deutscher Fußball-Bund, DFB). The responsibility of the Executive Vice President of the OK varied and included play and competitive technical matters, stadiums, ticket sales, transportation, safety, regulatory affairs, human resources, finances, planning and control, medical care, administration and secretariat.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee
Wolfgang Niersbach was the executive vice president and press chief officer of the World Cup committee. Niersbach was responsible for marketing, press and public relations, accreditation, information technology, media and telecommunications, events and the crew's quarters.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee
Vice-President of the OK was Fedor Radmann until 2003 and then Theo Zwanziger. His responsibilities included the general organization, legal, finances and also personnel decisions leading to the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee
The organizing committee was controlled by the Supervisory Board and the Board of Trustees. On the Supervisory Board were well-known personalities such as Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble, the former Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily, president of the German Football Association Gerhard Mayer-Vorfelder, Thomas Bach from the International Olympic Committee, Werner Hackmann president of the Deutsche Fußball Liga, and former footballer Günter Netzer as sports rights marketer.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, Advisors
The World Cup committee was supported and advised by the Sports Committee of the German Bundestag. In this way, the Sports Committee had repeated exchanges with the OK, for example, in June 2003, about the opportunities and prospects of touristic marketing of the major football event. Members in the legislature until 2006 were, fifteen deputies of the SPD, CDU / CSU, Alliance '90 / The Greens and the FDP. Chairman of the Sports Committee was Peter Rauen of the CDU, who was also on the Board of OK.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, International Ambassador
One representative and ambassador of the World Cup was the coach of the Germany national football team Jürgen Klinsmann. In which the World and European champions (in 1990 and 1996) qualified him and his international career and knowledge of foreign languages. He played in Italy, France, England and lived in the United States. From those responsible for the national team was also Oliver Bierhoff. He held the position of national team manager and in 1996 was European champion.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, International Ambassador
Bierhoff scored the golden goal that brought Germany the title and was one of the best strikers in the Italian Serie A in the nineties for Udinese Calcio and AC Milan. Another representative of the World Cup was the football functionary Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. FC Bayern Munich's CEO was European Champion in 1980 and was vice president of the Association of the European big clubs "G-14", and also within the UEFA, president of the European Club Forum. Rudi Völler was former captain of the German national team and the predecessor of Jürgen Klinsmann. The former international striker should also represent Germany in the world.


2006 FIFA World Cup Organizing Committee, International Ambassador
Chief organizer Franz Beckenbauer named more World Cup ambassadors, without exception of former professional football players, who officially accompanied their hometowns and World Cup host cities leading up to the World Cup:


2006 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights
FIFA, through several companies, have sold the rights for the broadcast of 2006 FIFA World Cup to the following broadcasters.


2006 FIFA World Cup broadcasting rights, Television
Broadcasters that were confirmed to be screening some or all of the matches in standard definition are in bold. Broadcasters screening matches in UHF are free-to-air.


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage
In the 2006 FIFA World Cup, the knockout stage was the second and final stage of the World Cup, following the group stage. The top two teams from each group (16 total) advance to the knockout stage to compete in a single-elimination style tournament. A match was played between the two losing teams of the semi-finals to determine which team finished in third place.


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Qualified teams
The top two placed teams from each of the eight groups qualified for the knockout stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Sweden
Germany progressed thanks to two goals from Lukas Podolski inside the opening 12 minutes. His first was in the fourth minute; German captain Michael Ballack sent a pass to Miroslav Klose,  who was tackled by goalkeeper Andreas Isaksson, only for an onrushing Podolski to turn the ball in. Eight minutes later, a pass from Klose found Podolski, who scored his second goal. On 35 minutes, Teddy Lučić received a second yellow card for a foul on Klose. In the 52nd minute, Henrik Larsson won a penalty for Sweden when he was challenged by Christoph Metzelder, only for Larsson himself to shoot the ball over the crossbar. Afterwards, Germany held out for a 2–0 win.


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Germany vs Sweden
Assistant referees:Aristeu Tavares (Brazil)Ednílson Corona (Brazil)Fourth official:Shamsul Maidin (Singapore)Fifth official:Prachya Permpanich (Thailand)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Argentina vs Mexico
Assistant referees:Francesco Buragina (Switzerland)Matthias Arnet (Switzerland)Fourth official:Khalil Al Ghamdi (Saudi Arabia)Fifth official:Fathi Arabati (Jordan)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, England vs Ecuador
Assistant referees:Peter Hermans (Belgium)Walter Vromans (Belgium)Fourth official:Óscar Ruiz (Colombia)Fifth official:José Navia (Colombia)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Portugal vs Netherlands
Assistant referees:Nikolay Golubev (Russia)Evgueni Volnin (Russia)Fourth official:Marco Rodríguez (Mexico)Fifth official:José Luis Camargo (Mexico)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Italy vs Australia
Assistant referees:Víctoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain)Pedro Medina Hernández (Spain)Fourth official:Éric Poulat (France)Fifth official:Lionel Dagorne (France)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Switzerland vs Ukraine
Switzerland became the first team in the history of the FIFA World Cup to leave an edition of the tournament without conceding a single goal.


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Switzerland vs Ukraine
Assistant referees:José Ramírez (Mexico)Héctor Vergara (Canada)Fourth official:Jerome Damon (South Africa)Fifth official:Justice Yeboah (Ghana)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Brazil vs Ghana
Assistant referees:Roman Slysko (Slovakia)Martin Balko (Slovakia)Fourth official:Mark Shield (Australia)Fifth official:Nathan Gibson (Australia)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Round of 16, Spain vs France
Assistant referees:Cristiano Copelli (Italy)Alessandro Stagnoli (Italy)Fourth official:Markus Merk (Germany)Fifth official:Christian Schräer (Germany)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Germany vs Argentina
Assistant referees:Roman Slysko (Slovakia)Martin Balko (Slovakia)Fourth official:Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)Fifth official:Francesco Buragina (Switzerland)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Italy vs Ukraine
Assistant referees:Peter Hermans (Belgium)Walter Vromans (Belgium)Fourth official:Toru Kamikawa (Japan)Fifth official:Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, England vs Portugal
Assistant referees:Darío García (Argentina)Rodolfo Otero (Argentina)Fourth official:Coffi Codjia (Benin)Fifth official:Aboudou Aderodjou (Benin)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs France
Defending world champions Brazil went out in the quarter-finals after Zinedine Zidane found an unmarked Thierry Henry from a free kick, the striker having been given a free run at the ball after his marker, Roberto Carlos, stopped to tie his shoe.


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Quarter-finals, Brazil vs France
Assistant referees:Víctoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain)Pedro Medina Hernández (Spain)Fourth official:Mark Shield (Australia)Fifth official:Ben Wilson (Australia)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Germany vs Italy
Assistant referees:José Ramírez (Mexico)Héctor Vergara (Canada)Fourth official:Toru Kamikawa (Japan)Fifth official:Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Semi-finals, Portugal vs France
Assistant referees:Wálter Rial (Uruguay)Pablo Fandino (Uruguay)Fourth official:Mark Shield (Australia)Fifth official:Nathan Gibson (Australia)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Third place play-off
Assistant referees:Yoshikazu Hiroshima (Japan)Kim Dae-young (South Korea)Fourth official:Coffi Codjia (Benin)Fifth official:Celestin Ntagungira (Rwanda)


2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage, Final
Assistant referees:Darío García (Argentina)Rodolfo Otero (Argentina)Fourth official:Luis Medina Cantalejo (Spain)Fifth official:Víctoriano Giráldez Carrasco (Spain)


2006 FIFA World Cup officials
Match officials for the 2006 FIFA World Cup were nominated by the six confederations to FIFA, who, after a series of tests in Frankfurt/Neu-Isenburg in March 2006, selected 23 referees and a support and development group of a further 5, from a shortlist of 44.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials
Kyros Vassaras of Greece and Manuel Mejuto of Spain were selected to be on the panel, but the assistants who were to make up their teams were not deemed to have reached the required standards, and so they were replaced by Roberto Rosetti and Luis Medina. Jamaican referee Peter Prendergast was selected for the tournament panel, but suffered a knee injury and was removed from the list without replacement. Massimo De Santis of Italy was also on the panel of 23 referees, but after he was implicated in the Serie A match-fixing allegations, he was withdrawn by the Italian Football Federation and not replaced.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials
The 21 referees, along with their assistants and the support group, are based in Neu-Isenburg for the duration of the tournament. FIFA announces the referees selected for each fixture three days in advance of the match.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials
Horacio Elizondo was chosen to officiate the final match, which took place in Berlin on July 9.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials, Refereeing teams
Below are the details of the 21 groups of match officials in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. For assistants, a flag is only shown if his nationality varies from that of the referee with whom he is grouped.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials, Refereeing teams
Most teams (consisting of a referee and two assistants) are drawn from the same nation, and all are made up of officials from the same confederation. In the first round of the tournament, officials other than from UEFA member associations only operate in groups that do not include a representative of their confederation.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials, Refereeing teams
Mexico is the only country with 2 referees on the panel.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials, Refereeing teams
For the first time at a World Cup, match officials will be equipped with microphones and earpieces so they can communicate better with each other during each game. Furthermore this World Cup sees the introduction of a fifth official who can be called upon to replace an injured assistant referee. The fourth official would replace the referee..


2006 FIFA World Cup officials, Support officials
Five teams of officials were named to be on standby in the case of injury to any of the officials nominated for a match. None of them were called upon, however, and from the quarter-finals onwards, referees from among the 12 retained for the latter stages of the tournament were given standby appointments to matches.


2006 FIFA World Cup officials, Final Match Officials
On Wednesday 28th of June, one day after the Second Round matches were completed and two days before the Quarterfinals, the FIFA announced the 12 referees that were retained for the remaining matches. This is the standard process, meant to ensure only the best referees are in charge of the final few games. The twelve are:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South America), OFC (Oceania), and UEFA (Europe) — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament. A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. In 2001 FIFA ended automatic  qualification of the reigning champion, so that 2002 champions Brazil became first to participate in the qualifying tournament. The hosts (Germany) retained their automatic spot.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
The original distribution of places between the six confederations called for Oceania to be given one full spot in the final 32; this idea was seen as virtually guaranteeing a place in the finals to Australia, by far the strongest footballing nation in the region. This decision was reconsidered in June 2003 and the previous distribution of places between Oceania and South America was restored.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
The draw for five of the six qualification tournaments took place on 5 December 2003 in Frankfurt, whilst all of the members of the South American federation (CONMEBOL) competed in a single group. Qualification itself began in January 2004.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
The following 32 teams qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
1Includes 10 appearances by DFB representing West Germany between 1954 and 1990. Excludes 1 appearance by DVF representing East Germany between 1954 and 1990.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
2Participated as a part of Soviet Union between 1930 and 1990.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
3Includes appearances by pre-division Yugoslavia, as FIFA considers Serbia and Montenegro as a successor of a team.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
4Includes appearances by Czechoslovakia, as FIFA considers Czech Republic as a successor of a team.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualified teams
13 of the 32 teams subsequently failed to qualify for the 2010 finals: Angola, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Iran, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia and Ukraine.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
A total of 197 teams entered the qualification process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, competing for a total of 32 spots in the final tournament. Germany, as the host, qualified automatically, leaving 31 spots open for competition.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
Starting with these qualifiers, the defending champion (Brazil) was not granted automatic qualification for the first time. FIFA announced the decision in December 2001 at the draw for the 2002 Finals Tournament. The official reason was that the friendly matches to which previous champions were restricted provided inferior preparation to the competitive qualification matches others would have played. Media also noted that the change released an extra place for the contentious distribution of places by confederation.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
The distribution by confederation for the 2006 FIFA World Cup was:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
UEFA and CAF have a guaranteed number of places, whereas the number of qualifiers from other confederations is dependent on play-offs between AFC's fifth-placed team and CONMEBOL's fifth-placed team, and between CONCACAF's fourth-placed team and OFC's first-placed team. A draw determined the pairings between the four teams involved.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process
After the 2006 FIFA World Cup group stage of 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, the percentage of teams from each confederation that passed through to the round of 16 was as follows:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a league format, the method used for separating teams level on points is the same for all Confederations. The rules for separating teams level on points are decided by FIFA and can be found in article 18 part 6d to 6g of the FIFA Regulations 2006 World Cup Germany


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
If teams are even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams will be ranked by:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
For FIFA World Cup qualifying stages using a home-and-away knockout format, the team that has the higher aggregate score over the two legs progresses to the next round. In the event that aggregate scores finish level, the away goals rule is applied, i.e. the team that scored more goals away from home over the two legs progresses. If away goals are also equal, then thirty minutes of extra time are played, divided into two fifteen-minutes halves.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
The away goals rule is again applied after extra time, i.e. if there are goals scored during extra time and the aggregate score is still level, the visiting team qualifies by virtue of more away goals scored. If no goals are scored during extra time, the tie is decided by penalty shoot-out.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
This is a change from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where total goal difference was the first tiebreaker.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Qualification process, Tiebreakers
A total of 194 teams played at least one qualifying match. A total of 847 qualifying matches were played, and 2464 goals were scored (an average of 2.91 per match).


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC
44 Asian teams are affiliated with FIFA, but Cambodia, Philippines, Bhutan and Brunei decided not to take part, and Myanmar was banned from the competition, so a total of 39 teams took part, competing for 4.5 places in the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, AFC, Play-off for 5th place (Fourth Round)
'Bahrain advanced to the AFC–CONCACAF play-off on the away goals rule.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
The qualification was composed of two Rounds. 9 teams entered the competition directly on the Second Round: the 5 teams that qualified for the 2002 World Cup Finals (Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia) and the 4 highest-ranking teams in the June 25, 2003 FIFA world rankings (Congo DR, Ivory Coast, Egypt, and Morocco). The other 42 teams were paired 2-by-2 and played knock-out matches home-and-away. The 21 winners would advance to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
In the Second Round, the 30 teams were divided in 5 groups of 6 teams each. Teams in each group would play against each other in a home-and-away basis. The team with most points in each group would qualify to the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
The competition also constituted the qualification competition for the 2006 African Nations Cup with the top three nations of each group qualifying (except for Egypt, which qualifies as the host nation, the fourth nation in Egypt's group qualifying in Egypt's place).


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
The African qualifying zone saw 4 out of 5 finals places going to World Cup debutants (Angola, Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana). Nigeria missed out on a fourth consecutive finals appearance while Cameroon did not reach their fifth consecutive finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CAF
The African zone also featured a group of death — Group 3, which brought together Africa's most frequent World Cup qualifier Cameroon with the two eventual finalists of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations: Egypt and the Ivory Coast.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
The qualification process was divided in three stages. In the first stage, the 34 teams were divided in 10 groups of three teams each and two groups of two teams each. Groups with three teams had two rounds, with the best ranked team according to FIFA in each group entering the competition in the second round. In each group, teams were paired 2-by-2 and played home-and-away matches.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
The 12 winners of the first stage advanced to the second stage, where they were divided into three groups of four teams each. Teams in each group would play against each other home-and-away, and the two teams with most points in each group would advance to the Final Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONCACAF
In the third stage, the six teams were put in a single group, and played against each other home-and-away. The three teams with most points qualified to the World Cup. The fourth placed team advanced to the AFC–CONCACAF play-off against the winner of a play-off between third placed teams in the Third Round of Asia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, CONMEBOL
10 teams took part, all in a single group. The rules were very simple: the teams would play against each other in a home-and-away basis, with the four teams with most points qualifying to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The fifth ranked team would have to play-off against the best team from Oceania, with the winner of this play-off also qualifying. For the first time, Brazil, the defending champion, was required to go through qualification and was not automatically qualified for the tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC
12 teams took part, competing for a place in the intercontinental play-off against the fifth-placed team from South America. The winner of this play-off qualified for the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC, Final positions (Second Round)
In the Second round, the six teams were put in a single group, and played against each other once. The two teams with most points advanced to a play-off, and played against each other home and away. The winner of this play-off advanced to the intercontinental play-off.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, OFC, Final round
Australia and the Solomon Islands progressed to the final stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
A total of 51 teams took part, divided in 8 groups (five groups of six teams each and three groups of seven teams each) competing for 13 places in the World Cup. Germany, the hosts, were already qualified, for a total of 14 European places in the tournament. The qualifying process started on 18 August 2004, over a month after the end of UEFA Euro 2004, and ended on 16 November 2005.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA
The teams in each group would play against each other in a home and away basis. The team with most points in each group would qualify to the World Cup. The runners up would be ranked. For the sake of fairness, in groups with seven teams, results against the seventh placed team were ignored. The two best ranked runners up would also qualify to the World Cup. The other six runners up were drawn into three home and away knock out matches, winners of those matches also qualifying.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA, Play-offs
Poland and Sweden qualified directly to the World Cup. The other teams had to play off.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Confederation qualification, UEFA, Play-offs
A draw was held on 14 October 2005 at FIFA headquarters in Zürich to pair each team from Pot 1 with a team from Pot 2. A second draw at the same time and location determined the order of the fixtures.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, Inter-confederation play-offs
There were two scheduled inter-confederation playoffs to determine the final two qualification spots to the finals. The first legs were played on 12 November 2005, and the second legs were played on 16 November 2005.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Asia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)
44 Asian teams are affiliated with FIFA, but Cambodia, Philippines, Bhutan and Brunei decided not to take part, and Myanmar was banned from the competition (for refusing to play a qualifier in Iran during 2002 qualifying), so a total of 39 teams took part, competing for 4.5 places in the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Format
The qualification was composed of three rounds. Only the 14 last ranked teams according to FIFA took part in the Preliminary Round, where they were paired 2-by-2 and played home-and-away knock-out matches. The 7 winners joined the other 25 teams in the Second Round, where those 32 teams were divided in 8 groups of four teams each. The teams in each group would play against each other home-and-away, and the team with most points in each group would advance to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Format
In the Third Round, the 8 remaining teams were divided in two groups of 4 teams each, that would again play against each other in a home-and-away basis. The two teams with most points in each group would qualify to the World Cup. The two third placed teams would play-off against each other home-and-away. Winner of this play-off would play against the fourth placed team in the Final Round of CONCACAF in an intercontinental play-off for a place in the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Tiebreakers
If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams were ranked by:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Tiebreakers
This was a change from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where total goal difference was the first tiebreaker.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round
Guam and Nepal were scheduled to play against each other on November 21 and 25; Nepal withdrew, so Guam progressed to the 2nd round, but Guam later withdrew.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round
FIFA then decided to elect a "lucky loser", to select the best of the teams that lost, to advance to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), First round
The losers were compared, using the following criteria to break ties: a) number of points; b) goal difference; c) goals scored.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Second round
In the second round, the 25 teams who received byes, as well as the 7 play-off round winners, were split into eight groups of four teams each. Teams played home-and-away games with the other teams in their group, and the top-ranked team qualified for the third round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Third round
In the third round, the 8 teams who won their groups in the earlier round were split into two groups of four teams each. Teams played home-and-away games with the other teams in their group, and the top two teams qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Meanwhile, the third-placed teams entered a play-off to determine who would contest the AFC–CONCACAF play-off.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round
Teams finishing 3rd in the third round groups played each other to determine a possible 5th qualifier from Asia. The first leg was originally played on 3 September 2005 but the match was ordered to be replayed by FIFA after a refereeing mistake. With Uzbekistan leading the tie 1–0, a penalty was awarded to them but the referee disallowed the resulting goal and offered an indirect freekick to Bahrain for encroachment. Uzbekistan had formally requested for the match to be recorded as an automatic 3–0 victory.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Fourth round
Bahrain advanced to the AFC–CONCACAF play-off on the away goals rule.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The Fourth Round winner then played the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF qualifying group, Trinidad and Tobago, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC), Qualified teams
The following four teams from AFC qualified for the final tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Africa. 51 teams took part (only Comoros and Djibouti did not enter), competing for 5 World Cup places.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The qualification was composed of two Rounds. 9 teams entered the competition directly on the Second Round: the 5 teams that qualified for the 2002 World Cup Finals (Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tunisia) and the 4 highest-ranking teams in the June 25, 2003 FIFA world rankings (Congo DR, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, and Morocco). The other 42 teams were paired 2-by-2 and played knock-out matches home-and-away. The 21 winners would advance to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
In the Second Round, the 30 teams were divided in 5 groups of 6 teams each. Teams in each group would play against each other in a home-and-away basis. The team with most points in each group would qualify to the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The competition also constituted the qualification competition for the 2006 African Nations Cup with the top three nations of each group qualifying (except for Egypt, which qualifies as the host nation, the fourth nation in Egypt's group qualifying in Egypt's place).


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The African qualifying zone saw 4 out of 5 finals places going to World Cup debutants (Angola, Togo, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana). Nigeria missed out on a fourth consecutive finals appearance while Cameroon did not reach their fifth consecutive finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)
The African zone also featured a group of death — Group 3, which brought together Africa's most frequent World Cup qualifier Cameroon with the two eventual finalists of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations: Egypt and the Ivory Coast.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Tiebreakers
If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams were ranked by:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Tiebreakers
This was a change from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where total goal difference was the first tiebreaker.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF), Qualified teams
The following five teams from CAF qualified for the final tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for North, Central America and the Caribbean. A total of 34 teams took part (out of 35 eligible – only Puerto Rico declined to participate), competing for 3.5 places in the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The qualification process was divided in three stages. In the first stage, the 34 teams were divided in 10 groups of three teams each and two groups of two teams each. Groups with three teams had two rounds, with the best ranked team according to FIFA in each group entering the competition in the second round. In each group, teams were paired 2-by-2 and played home-and-away matches.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
The 12 winners of the first stage advanced to the second stage, where they were divided into three groups of four teams each. Teams in each group would play against each other home-and-away, and the two teams with most points in each group would advance to the Final Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF)
In the third stage, the six teams were put in a single group, and played against each other home-and-away. The three teams with most points qualified to the World Cup. The fourth placed team advanced to the AFC–CONCACAF play-off against the winner of a play-off between third placed teams in the Third Round of Asia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Format
The First and Second Rounds reduced the 34 entrants to 24 and 12 teams, respectively. The remaining 12 teams were then placed into three Third Round groups of four, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the Fourth and final qualification group. The Third Round began in August 2004 and ended in November 2004. The top three teams from the Fourth Round group of six (held from February 2005 to October 2005) qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The fourth-placed team competed in a home-and-away play-off against the fifth-placed team from Asia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Inter-confederation play-offs
The Fourth Round fourth-placed team then played the fifth-placed team of the AFC qualifying group, Bahrain, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF), Qualified teams
The following four teams from CONCACAF qualified for the final tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off)
The 2006 FIFA World Cup CONCACAF–AFC qualification play-off was a home-and-away play-off between the following teams:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off)
The draw for determining the order of the home and away legs was made at a FIFA congress on 10 September 2005.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONCACAF–AFC play-off)
Trinidad and Tobago was awarded a place in 2006 FIFA World Cup after winning the playoff 2–1 on aggregate.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for South America. 10 teams took part, all in a single group. The rules were very simple: the teams would play against each other in a home-and-away basis, with the four teams with most points qualifying to the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The fifth ranked team would have to play-off against the best team from Oceania, with the winner of this play-off also qualifying. For the first time, Brazil, the defending champion, was required to go through qualification and was not automatically qualified for the tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Tiebreakers
If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams were ranked by:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Tiebreakers
This was a change from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where total goal difference was the first tiebreaker.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Inter-confederation play-offs
The fifth-placed team then played the winner of the OFC qualifying group, Australia, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL), Qualified teams
The following four teams from CONMEBOL qualified for the final tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off)
The 2006 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL–OFC qualification play-off was a two-legged home-and-away tie between the winners of the Oceania qualifying tournament, Australia, and the fifth-placed team from the South American qualifying tournament, Uruguay. It still remains as the only match where a country has qualified for the FIFA World Cup Finals on a penalty shoot-out.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off)
After winning the series, Australia qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off), Overview
The games were played on 12 and 16 November 2005 in Montevideo and Sydney respectively. With the home team winning 1–0 in both matches, the aggregate score was tied 1–1, and, with no away goal advantage, the play-off was decided by a penalty shoot-out, which Australia won 4–2 in order to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since the 1974 tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off), Overview
It was the second consecutive FIFA World Cup where the two sides had played each other for a place in the tournament. On the first occasion in 2001, Uruguay won 3–1 on aggregate. The draw for determining the order of the home and away legs was made at a FIFA congress on 10 September 2005. Australia finally won a FIFA World Cup play-off after losing to Scotland (1986), Argentina (1994), Iran (1998) and Uruguay (2002).


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off), Overview
In the second leg, there was heavy booing by Australian fans during Uruguay's national anthem.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off), Aftermath
Australia qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup Finals in Germany and were drawn into Group F with defending champions Brazil, Croatia and Japan. After beating Japan 3–1 in their opening match, Australia lost 2–0 to Brazil and in the final match they also drew 2–2 with Croatia, finishing second in the group on four points. In the Round of 16, Australia were defeated 1–0 by the eventual champions, Italy.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off), Aftermath
For Uruguay it was the third FIFA World Cup out of four since 1990 they failed to qualify. Jorge Fossati lost his job and rehired Óscar Tabárez who managed the team before (1988–1990), and Uruguay entered the Proceso era breaking many records and have qualified for every FIFA World Cup since 2010.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off), Aftermath
In 2009, Australian Broadcasting Corporation ranked Australia's victory in 2005 as number one on their list of milestone sporting moments of the 2000s. Melbourne paper the Herald Sun named Australia's victory in 2005 as one of 100 great moments in Australian sports history.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL–OFC play-off), Aftermath
A documentary titled November 16 was released in 2015 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the second leg. It featured interviews with Álvaro Recoba, Fabián Carini and members of the Australian squad.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for Oceania. 12 teams took part, competing for a place in the intercontinental play-off against the fifth-placed team from South America. The winner of this play-off qualified for the World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC)
This qualifying tournament also doubled as the 2004 OFC Nations Cup, up to the final play-off stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Tiebreakers
If teams were even on points at the end of group play, the tied teams were ranked by:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Tiebreakers
This was a change from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where total goal difference was the first tiebreaker.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), First round
The competition was composed of three rounds. Australia and New Zealand entered the competition directly in the Second Round. The other 10 teams were divided in two groups of five teams each, and played against each other once. The two teams with most points in each group advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Second round
In the Second round, the six teams were put in a single group, and played against each other once. The two teams with most points advanced to a play-off, and played against each other home and away. The winner of this play-off advanced to the intercontinental play-off.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Second round, 2004 OFC Nations Cup Final
Australia and the Solomon Islands progressed to the final stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Inter-confederation play-offs
The final round winners then played the fifth-placed team of CONMEBOL qualifying, Uruguay, in a home-and-away play-off. The winner of this play-off qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (OFC), Qualified teams
The following team from OFC qualified for the final tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for UEFA teams. A total of 51 teams took part, divided in 8 groups – five groups of six teams each and three groups of seven teams each – competing for 13 places in the World Cup. Germany, the hosts, were already qualified, for a total of 14 European places in the tournament. The qualifying process started on 18 August 2004, over a month after the end of UEFA Euro 2004, and ended on 16 November 2005. Kazakhstan, which transitioned from the Asian Football Confederation to UEFA after the end of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, debuted in the European qualifiers.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The teams in each group would play against each other in a home and away basis. The team with the most points in each group would qualify to the World Cup. The runners up would be ranked. For the sake of fairness, in groups with seven teams, results against the seventh placed team were ignored. The two best ranked runners up would also qualify to the World Cup. The other six runners up were drawn into three home and away knock out matches, winners of those matches also qualifying.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The race to join hosts Germany at the 2006 FIFA World Cup featured an unlikely winner in Europe, where Ukraine became the first team to qualify, having finished above Turkey, Denmark and Greece in arguably the continent's toughest qualifying group.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
France had its first successful World Cup qualifying campaign in twenty years as they had missed the 1990 and 1994 tournaments, then qualified automatically as hosts in 1998 and as defending champions in 2002.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia also advanced to Germany at the head of their sections, the former forcing Spain into the play offs in the process. Besides the eight group winners, two teams progressed automatically as best runners up, namely Poland and Sweden while the play offs offered a second chance to six others.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Qualification seeding (UEFA)
The draw was made on 5 December 2003 in Frankfurt, Germany. Germany qualified automatically as hosts. The other seedings were determined by points per game in the qualifiers for 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification and UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying. France qualified automatically for the 2002 FIFA World Cup as title holders, so only their record in UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying was used. Portugal qualified automatically for UEFA Euro 2004 as hosts, so only their record in World Cup 2002 was used. Kazakhstan were not ranked by this system as they did not participate in either competition.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Qualification seeding (UEFA)
For domestic clubs involved in international club competitions reasons, England, France, Italy and Spain were drawn into groups of 6 teams.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Qualification seeding (UEFA)
Teams in bold eventually qualified for the final tournament, teams in bold italic qualified for the final tournament through the play-offs, and teams in italic participated in the play-offs but did not qualify for the final tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Groups
The first round is group play. A win is awarded 3 point, a draw 1 point and a loss 0. The winner of a group is the team with the most points.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), First round, Groups
This was a change from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, where total goal difference was the first tiebreaker.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA), Qualified teams
The following 14 teams from UEFA qualified for the final tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs)
For the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, there were two scheduled inter-confederation play-offs to determine the final two qualification spots to the 2006 FIFA World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
The draw for the order in which the two matches were played was held on 10 September 2005 during the FIFA Congress in Marrakech, Morocco.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Format
The ties themselves were drawn by Urs Linsi, FIFA General Secretary and the teams but were allocated by FIFA as:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Matches, CONCACAF v AFC
Trinidad and Tobago won 2–1 on aggregate and qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Matches, CONMEBOL v OFC
1–1 on aggregate. Australia won 4–2 on penalties and qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (inter-confederation play-offs), Goalscorers
There were 5 goals scored in 4 matches, for an average of 1.25 goals per match.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC play-off was the first round of the Asian Football Confederation qualification for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The 14 teams with the lowest FIFA rankings played home-and-away knockout matches to qualify for the second stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Turkmenistan won 13–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Chinese Taipei won 6–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Tajikistan won 4–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Sri Lanka won 3–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Kyrgyzstan won 6–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Matches
Maldives won 13–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Ranking of losing teams
Both Guam and Nepal would have played against each other to decide who progresses to the next round. After Nepal withdrew first, Guam would have progressed but Guam withdrew later as well. So, FIFA decided to elect a "lucky loser", to find the best of the teams that lost, who would also advance to the second round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC First Round, Ranking of losing teams
The losers were compared, using the following criteria to break ties: a) number of points b) goal difference c) goals scored


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round
The AFC Fourth Round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification was held on 8 and 12 October 2005 between the two teams that finished third in the third round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round
The winning team advanced to a play-off against the fourth-placed team of the CONCACAF qualifying group, Trinidad and Tobago. The winner of this play-off will qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round
The first leg was originally played on 3 September 2005 but the match was ordered to be replayed by FIFA after a refereeing mistake. With Uzbekistan leading the tie 1–0, a penalty was awarded to them but the referee disallowed the resulting goal and offered an indirect free kick to Bahrain for encroachment. Uzbekistan had formally requested for the match to be recorded as an automatic 3–0 victory.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Fourth Round, Matches
1–1 on aggregate. Bahrain won on away goals and advanced to the CONCACAF–AFC play-off.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round
The AFC Second Round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 18 February 2004 and finished on 17 November 2004.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round
The highest-ranked country in each group at the end of the stage progressed to the third round, where the eight remaining teams were divided into two groups of four.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Format
The 32 teams (25 teams given a bye directly to the second round and 7 winners from the play-off round) were split into five groups of four teams each – with all teams playing home and away against each of the other three teams in the group.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Round, Format
The highest-ranked team in each group qualified for the third round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 1
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 1 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group was composed of Iran, Jordan, Qatar and Laos.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 1
The group was won by Iran, who qualified for the third stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 2
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 2 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group was composed of Iraq, Palestine, Chinese Taipei and Uzbekistan.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 2
The group was won by Uzbekistan, who qualified for the third stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 3
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 3 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised India, Japan, Oman and Singapore.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 3
The group was won by Japan, who qualified for the third stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 4
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 4 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group was composed of China PR, Hong Kong, Kuwait and Malaysia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 4
The group was won by Kuwait, who qualified for the third stage. Kuwait was qualified above China on more total goals scored in the group.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 5
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 5 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group was composed of Korea DPR, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 5
The group was won by Korea DPR, who qualified for the third stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 6
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 6 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group was composed of Bahrain, Kyrgyzstan, Syria and Tajikistan.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 6
The group was won by Bahrain, who qualified for the third stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 7
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 7 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group was composed of Korea Republic, Lebanon, Maldives and Vietnam.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 7
The group was won by Korea Republic, who qualified for the third stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 8
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification AFC Second Stage Group 8 was an  AFC qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group was composed of Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, Indonesia and Sri Lanka.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Second Stage Group 8
The group was won by Saudi Arabia, who qualified for the third stage.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
The AFC Third Round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 9 February 2005 and finished on 17 August 2005.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round
The top two countries in each group at the end of the stage qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, while the third-placed teams entered a play-off to determine an entrant for the play-off with the fifth-placed CONCACAF team.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Format
The 8 group-winners from the previous round were split into two groups of four teams each – with all teams playing home and away against each of the other three teams in the group.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Format
The top two teams in each group qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Group 2
Note: This match was used as backdrop for the 2006 Iranian film Offside.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – AFC Third Round, Group 2
Note: Since there were crowd troubles in the previous two North Korea's home matches, FIFA decided that the next one North Korea's home match be moved to a neutral venue (Thailand) and played behind closed doors.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF First Round
In the First Round, 42 teams were paired 2-by-2 and played knockout matches home-and-away. The 21 winners would advance to the Second Round where they would meet the other 9 teams that qualify directly to the Second Round. Those teams are the 5 teams that qualified for the 2002 World Cup Finals (Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia) and the 4 highest-ranking teams in FIFA world rankings of 25 June 2003 (Congo DR, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Morocco).


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 1
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification CAF Group 1 was a CAF qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Congo, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Togo and Zambia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 1
The group was won by Togo, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Togo, Senegal and Zambia qualified for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 1, Results
(due to security concerns related to elections, The match was played behind closed doors)


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 2
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification CAF Group 2 was a CAF qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Congo DR, Ghana, South Africa and Uganda.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 2
The group was won by Ghana, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Ghana, Congo DR and South Africa qualified for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 3
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification CAF Group 3 was a CAF qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Libya, and Sudan.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 3
The group was won by Ivory Coast, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Libya qualified for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. Egypt automatically qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations as a host nation.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 4
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification CAF Group 4 was a CAF qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Algeria, Angola, Gabon, Nigeria, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 4
The group was won by Angola, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Angola, Nigeria and Zimbabwe qualified for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations. Angola finished above Nigeria based on head-to-head results (Angola 1–0 Nigeria; Nigeria 1–1 Angola).


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 5
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification CAF Group 5 was a CAF qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Botswana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco and Tunisia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 5
The group was won by Tunisia, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Tunisia, Morocco and Guinea qualified for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Group 5, Results
(due to unruly behaviour and stampede killing one person in the game against Morocco, This match was played behind closed doors)


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round
The CAF Second Round of 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification began on 5 June 2004 and finished on 8 October 2005.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round
The highest-ranked country in each group at the end of the stage qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. This round also doubled as qualification for the 2006 African Cup of Nations, for which the top three teams from each group qualified.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Format
The 30 teams (9 teams given a bye directly to the second round and 21 winners from the first round) were split into five groups of six teams each – with all teams playing home and away against each of the other five teams in the group.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Format
The highest-ranked team in each group qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, while the top three teams qualified for the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations (except in Egypt's case; since Egypt qualified for the tournament directly as hosts, fourth-placed Libya qualified in its place.)


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Group 1, Matches
Togo's last minute goal, which eliminated Mali from contention, angered the crowd, who proceeded to riot in the streets of Bamako.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Group 1, Matches
(Due to security concerns related to elections, the match was played behind closed doors.)


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CAF Second Round, Group 5, Matches
(Due to unruly behaviour and stampede killing one person in the game against Morocco, this match was played behind closed doors.)


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round
In the First Round of CONCACAF, the 20 lowest-ranked teams played home-and-away matches to determine the 10 teams who would progress to the Second Round of competition.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Grenada won 8–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Bermuda won 20–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Haiti won 7–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
St. Lucia won 10–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Cuba won 5–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Suriname won 10–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Netherlands Antilles won 3–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Dominica won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Saint Kitts and Nevis won 11–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF First Round, Matches
Dominican Republic won 6–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Fourth Round
In the Fourth Round of the CONCACAF 2006 World Cup qualification, the six remaining teams from the Third Round were put in a single group, and played against each other home-and-away. The three teams with most points qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The fourth-placed team, Trinidad and Tobago, advanced to the AFC-CONCACAF playoff against the winner of the Fourth Round of Asia, Bahrain.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round
This page provides the summaries of the CONCACAF Second Round matches for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification. The 13 top-ranked teams from the FIFA ranking for CONCACAF in May 2007 competed, along with the 10 winning teams from the First Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Format
In this round 12 of the remaining 24 teams would be eliminated. There were 12 ties and the winners advanced to the next round. All games were scheduled to be played in home and away format.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
United States won 6–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
El Salvador won 4–3 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Jamaica won 4–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Panama won 7–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Costa Rica won on the away goals rule after drawing 3–3 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Guatemala won 4–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Honduras won 6–1 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Canada won 8–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Mexico won 18–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Saint Kitts and Nevis won 5–2 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Trinidad & Tobago won 6–0 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Second Round, Matches
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines won 6–3 on aggregate and advanced to the Third Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – CONCACAF Third Round
In the Third Round of CONCACAF, the 12 winners of the Second Round were divided in 3 groups of 4 teams each. Teams in each group would play against each other home-and-away, and the two teams with most points in each group would advance to the Fourth Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC First Round
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification first round for Oceania.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC First Round, Participating teams
The below 10 teams were divided in two groups of five teams each, and played against each other once. The two teams with most points in each group advanced to the Second Round.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – OFC First Round, Participating teams
New Caledonia was not a member of FIFA at the time of the draw, and only joined FIFA when its participation in the First Round, and in the 2006 World Cup qualifications, had ended.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 1 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Andorra, Armenia, Czech Republic, Finland, Macedonia and Netherlands and Romania.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 1
The group was won by Netherlands, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Czech Republic entered the UEFA qualification play-offs.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 2 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Albania, Denmark, Georgia, Greece, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
The group was won by Ukraine, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Turkey entered the UEFA qualification play-offs.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2
It was the first time when Kazakhstan took part in qualification from UEFA region, not AFC.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 3 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Estonia, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Portugal, Russia and  Slovakia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 3
The group was won by Portugal, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Slovakia entered the UEFA qualification play-offs.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 4 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Cyprus, Faroe Islands, France, Republic of Ireland, Israel and Switzerland.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 4
The group was won by France, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Switzerland entered the UEFA qualification play-offs.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 5 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Belarus, Italy, Moldova, Norway, Scotland and Slovenia.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 5
The group was won by Italy, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Norway entered the UEFA qualification play-offs.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 6 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Austria, Azerbaijan, England, Northern Ireland, Poland and Wales.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 6
The group was won by England, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Poland also qualified as one of two best runners-up.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 7 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lithuania, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro and Spain.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 7
The group was won by Serbia and Montenegro, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Spain entered the UEFA qualification play-offs.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8
The 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 8 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Malta and  Sweden.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 8
The group was won by Croatia, who qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The runners-up Sweden also qualified as one of two best runners-up.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
The 2006 FIFA World Cup European Qualification Playoffs were a set of home-and-away playoffs to decide the final three places granted to national football teams from European nations (more precisely, UEFA members) for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
By the rules of the UEFA qualifying tournament, the first-place finishers in each of eight groups received automatic berths, along with the two second-place teams that had earned the most points against teams in the top six of their individual groups.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
The six remaining second-place teams were divided into two pots based on their standings in the September 2005 FIFA World Rankings. The division was:


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
A draw was held on 14 October 2005 at FIFA headquarters in Zürich to pair each team from Pot 1 with a team from Pot 2. A second draw at the same time and location determined the order of the fixtures.


2006 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Second Round
The playoffs were decided by the standard FIFA method of aggregate score, with away goals and, if necessary, extra time with the possibility of a penalty shootout at the end of the second leg. The winner of each playoff was awarded a place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup seeding
To calculate the seeding for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, FIFA used the FIFA World Rankings in combination with performances of national teams in the two previous World Cups.


2006 FIFA World Cup seeding
Points were allocated on the basis of 32 for the best achieving of the 32 qualifiers for 2006 FIFA World Cup in each of the five fields considered, down to one for the lowest ranking.


2006 FIFA World Cup seeding
The seedings table uses these points obtained from the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2002 FIFA World Cup averaged in a 1:2 ratio respectively, added to the average number of points derived from the World Rankings at three given dates (at ratio 1:1:1), December 2003, December 2004, and November 2005. This generates a view of how well the teams have performed over the last ten years (since the rankings in 2003 include results from eight years previous to that) with a specific focus on how the teams have performed in the FIFA World Cup on previous occasions. Significant differences between this ranking of the teams and the official FIFA rankings at the time of the draw can be seen for Czech Republic, Germany and South Korea (ρ=0.87).


2006 FIFA World Cup seeding, System change
Unlike the 2002 FIFA World Cup seeding system which used performances of national teams in the three previous World Cups, this seeding system only used the last two. Had Denmark not failed to qualify they would have been seeded at the expense of Argentina.


2006 FIFA World Cup seeding, Progress of seeded teams
All 8 seeded teams qualified for the knockout stages of the tournament, but France and Mexico failed to win their groups, and so had to play other seeded teams in the second round. Mexico lost to Argentina, and France beat Spain, so while Spain and Mexico were eliminated earlier than the seedings would have predicted, Ukraine and Portugal went farther than the seedings predicted, Portugal going on to reach the semi-finals.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship
Corporate sponsorship during the 2006 World Cup has been a major source of revenue for FIFA, but it has also led to criticism for overly commercializing the event and allocating too many game tickets to sponsors, as well as for prohibitive actions against non-sponsor advertising around the stadiums. FIFA has defended its policies by pointing out that all of its profits from the World Cup are invested back into worldwide football.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Examples of sponsorship
As sporting events have become increasingly commercialized, a wide variety of sponsorship opportunities have emerged - or been created - and the 2006 FIFA World Cup was no different. Hyundai supplied team buses for each of the thirty-two finalists, and held a contest to decide the team bus slogans. Adidas supplied fifteen personalized match balls for every match of the tournament. Each Teamgeist ball has the name of the stadium, the national teams, the date of the match and the kickoff time are printed. The balls used for the final match were gold, rather than the normal white. Casio acted as the official timekeeper and provided giant countdown clocks in 8 cities across Germany to promote the oncoming tournament.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Examples of sponsorship
The tournament itself also had a myriad of 'official' items including an official video game (2006 FIFA World Cup) and song ("The Time of Our Lives", sung by  Il Divo and Toni Braxton).


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Examples of sponsorship
The fifteen official partners of the 2006 World Cup were: Adidas, Budweiser, Avaya, Coca-Cola, Continental, Deutsche Telekom, Emirates, Fujifilm, Gillette, Hyundai, Mastercard, McDonald's, Philips, Toshiba, and Yahoo!.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Examples of sponsorship
As companies who are not sponsors are not allowed to have their names overly associated with the World Cup, FIFA temporarily renamed seven of the twelve stadiums to "FIFA World Cup Stadium, [Name of City]."


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Revenue
FIFA raised €1.9bn in marketing revenue and €700m from sponsorship from the [[|2006 World Cup]]. The 2006 FIFA World Cup has fifteen "Official Partners," each thought to have paid €40 million for the privilege. It has a further six "National Partners," who paid €13m each for local advertising rights.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Sponsor controversies
There has been some controversy about several of FIFA’s sponsors. FIFA has been criticized for taking on McDonald's as a sponsor because many feel the chain’s unhealthy food should not be connected to a sporting event. Budweiser also has endured criticism for being the official beer of the World Cup in a country where, because it contains rice and fails the German Reinheitsgebot, it cannot be sold as a beer. Because of a longstanding copyright dispute with Czech brewery Budweiser Budvar it can also not be sold under the name of Budweiser in Germany.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Sponsor controversies
Anheuser-Busch signed its sponsorship deal with FIFA before the 2006 World Cup’s host country was chosen, and opted to advertise the brand as Bud 百威, combining the first three letters of its English brand name with its Chinese brand name. Budweiser is the only sponsor with non English writing on its billboards.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Sponsor controversies
During the first round match between the Netherlands and Ivory Coast, over 1,000 Dutch fans who arrived at the stadium wearing orange lederhosen were forced to remove their trousers because the lederhosen had the logo of Dutch brewery Bavaria. Bavaria, who had sold the lederhosen as part of an offer, was accused by FIFA of ambush marketing at the expense of American beer maker Budweiser who had paid millions of Euro to sponsor the competition and for the title of "Official Beer of the 2006 World Cup."


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Sponsor controversies
In April 2007, Mastercard sued FIFA for reneging on a World Cup credit card sponsorship deal after it had awarded the sponsorship to Visa. Mastercard had the right of first refusal to sponsor the 2010 and 2014 World Cups but was not given the opportunity to do so. On December 7, 2006, Mastercard won its US federal lawsuit against FIFA. The judge issued a ruling stating that FIFA had breached the contract and that Mastercard was entitled to sponsor the next two World Cups. The judge also brought to light that FIFA officials had repeatedly lied to both Mastercard and Visa during the negotiations.


2006 FIFA World Cup sponsorship, Sponsor controversies, Ticket availability
FIFA allocated approximately one in six of the 3.1 million World Cup tickets to its sponsors. Each of the fifteen official partners received 25,000 World Cup tickets, while the six national partners split a total of 115,000. This has led to FIFA being heavily criticized for not making enough tickets available to fans.


2006 FIFA World Cup squads
This article lists the confirmed national football squads for the 2006 FIFA World Cup tournament held in Germany, between 9 June and 9 July 2006. Before announcing their final squad, several teams named a provisional squad of 23 to 33 players, but each country's final squad of 23 players had to be submitted by 15 May 2006. Replacement of injured players was permitted until 24 hours before the team's first World Cup game. Players marked (c) were named as captain for their national squad. Number of caps counts until the start of the World Cup, including all pre-tournament friendlies. Club information is that used by FIFA. Players for whom this information changed during or prior to the tournament are indicated by footnotes.


2006 FIFA World Cup squads, Player representation by league
The squads for Italy and Saudi Arabia were made up entirely of players from their respective domestic leagues. Saudi Arabia were the only team with no players from European clubs. The Ivory Coast squad was made up entirely of players employed by foreign clubs, and 22 out of the 23 players were registered in Europe. Although Turkey, Scotland, and Russia failed to qualify for the finals, their domestic leagues were represented by 12, 11, and 10 players respectively. In total, domestic leagues from 48 different countries had players at the 2006 World Cup.


2006 FIFA World Cup squads, Player representation by club
Finalised clubs' listing as per FIFA, excluding players on standby and loans.