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
Croatia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Croatia at the 2006 FIFA World Cup Croatia participated in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. This was their third appearance. Up to 2006, the country had qualified for every FIFA World Cup which it has been eligible for since independence in 1991. Croatia was in Group 8 of UEFA's World Cup qualifications. They played alongside Bulgaria, Hungary, Iceland, Malta and Sweden. During the course of qualifications, the team remained undefeated. At the end of qualification, the team was tied with Sweden in points. However, Croatia won the tiebreaker based on their head-to-head record (Croatia won both meetings). The complete results