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
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 9 The 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification UEFA Group 9 was a UEFA qualifying group for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The group comprised the Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, Iceland and Macedonia. This group had one team fewer than the other eight. The group was won by the Netherlands, who qualified for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As runners-up, Norway were in contention for the UEFA play-off stage, but their record was the worst of all runners-up and so they were eliminated. The fixtures were decided at a meeting held in Amsterdam, Netherlands