Brazil at the 2006 FIFA World Cup World Cup, played Cameroon in the opening match; in 1994, Germany, winner of the 1990 World Cup, played Bolivia; in 1998, Brazil played Scotland and in 2002 France played Senegal). As of the 2006 World Cup, because of the change in the rules, with the last champion no longer having a secured berth in the competition, the opening match has become another privilege of the host nation (in the 2006 World Cup, Germany, as the host nation, played Costa Rica in the opening match). Despite being the returning champion, the Brazilian team debuted, against Croatia, only four days after the
2006 FIFA Club World Cup 2006 FIFA Club World Cup The 2006 FIFA Club World Cup (officially the FIFA Club World Cup Japan 2006 presented by Toyota for sponsorship reasons) was a football tournament held in Japan between 10 December and 17 December 2006. It was the third FIFA Club World Cup. The club champions from each of the six confederations played in a knockout tournament. The quarter-final match-ups were determined by a draw including the AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC champions, while the UEFA and CONMEBOL champions were given byes to the semi-finals. The losers of the quarter-finals would play for the fifth place,