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
DR Congo at the FIFA World Cup One of the players ended up being homeless. In 2012 a charity raised money for the surviving players to receive a small pension every month of a couple of hundred dollars. Head coach: Blagoje Vidinić ---- Ten players were fielded by head coach Vidinić on all three occasions, making them record players for the DR Congo to this day. DR Congo at the FIFA World Cup DR Congo national football team (formerly the Zaire national football team) have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on one occasion in 1974 when they were known as Zaire. They were