2006 FIFA World Cup Final 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 The 2006 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match that took place on 9 July 2006 at the Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany, to determine the winner of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Italy beat France 5–3 on penalties after the match finished 1–1 after extra time. France's Zinedine Zidane was sent off in his last-ever match, for headbutting Italy's Marco Materazzi's chest in retaliation to Materazzi's verbal provocation. It was the first
National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup National team appearances in the FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA, Fédération Internationale de Football Association). The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 when it was not held due to the Second World War. The competition originally featured 16 teams, and later 24, before settling on its current format of 32 teams starting with the 1998 tournament. Teams initially compete in