2010 FIFA World Cup world title. Spain became the eighth nation to win the tournament and the first European nation to win a World Cup hosted outside its home continent: all previous World Cups held outside Europe had been won by South American nations. They are also the only national team since 1978 to win a World Cup after losing a game in the group stage. As a result of their win, Spain represented the World in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup. Host nation South Africa and both 2006 World Cup finalists Italy and France were all eliminated in the first round of the
2006 FIFA World Cup knockout stage 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. The top two placed teams from each of the eight groups qualified for the knockout stage. Germany progressed thanks to two goals from Lukas Podolski inside the opening 12 minutes.