2006 World Cup Soccer / Football
2006 World Cup was held in Germany from June 6th until July 7th, 2006.
This world cup would be the one where Italian side would triumph and lift the world cup trophy for the 4th time in the world cup history.
It is important to mention that World Cup 2006 champions Italy came to this World Cup with a rock solid defense built around the world class goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and one of the best defenders in the world, Fabio Cannavaro.
With this defense Italy conceded only two goals, one of them an own goal and the other from the penalty spot.
Italian midfield worked flawlessly during the 2006 Fifa World Cup with the great playmaker Andrea Pirlo making smooth and calm precision passes for goal scoring opportunities and Gennaro Gattuso being the engine of the midfield cutting passes and causing problems for every teams offense.
Gianluca Zambrotta and Fabio Grosso showed the whole world how full backs should play this game by pushing up the field and creating extra players on many occasions which led to goals, than sprinting back and defending their goal.
It was some of the best Right and Left Back displays seen in a long time during this competition.
As a matter of fact it was Fabio Grosso scoring a goal in the closing minutes against Germany during the semi finals to force the game into Penalty Shootout where Grosso again scored the decisive penalty to seal the victory for the Italian side.
This would also be the first time where Italian side would triumph after the penalties, unlike the three penalty shootouts during the previous world cups, including the famous Roberto Baggio penalty miss during the 1994 World Cup final loss to Brazil.
Italy also used 21 of their 23 man squad, with 10 of them finding the net during this 2006 Football World cup which made it obvious that Italy owed its success to no one or two players in particular but complete squad TEAMWORK.
Germans, led by Jurgen Klinsmann and playing some of the most attacking, hi tempo and attractive soccer of the tournament won fans around the world and took the 3th place of the tournament.
It was great success for Germans as their squad was one of the youngest in this tournament with many young players eager to show off their skills.
Important fact to mention is that Germany scored most goals during the tournament, 14 in total with five of them from Adidas Golden Shoe winner Miroslav Klose and three from Lukas Podolski, Gillette Best Young Player.
This great event was followed by more than 3.5 million spectators attending matches in the 12 breath taking stadiums as well as 30 billion people in every language around the world.
It was a sign that Fifa World Cup is reaching its peak and is followed by every nationality in the world.
It was also a historic retirement for great Zinedine Zidane who came back in top form and helped French side advance through Spain and Brazil en route to the final match in Berlin where soccer tragedy of the French followed.
Zinedine Zidane found the net with one of the greatest penalties taken during a final against Italy, giving France the lead of 1:0, Italy scored to force the game into overtime.
However there was no happy ending for Zinedine Zidane as he left the field for the last time in what was a most dramatic retirement from international football/soccer in the history of world cup or any other competition.
As the game went on and tempers heated up during the extra time, Zinedine Zidane would make his exit from the world of football/soccer with a red card just few minutes before the end of the game.
It was a famous Zinedine Zidane headbutt into Materazzi's chest after Marco Materazzi provoked Zidane by saying something about Zizou family that made Zidane do something nobody expected to see.
Zinedine Zidane walked off the field for the last time in his professional career and France lost this match after penalty shootout.
Zinedine Zidane still won the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament and retired after this 2006 World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo also took the headlines as he led Portugal to the semi final, which was great success considering the fact that Portugal's last semi final was back in 1966 world cup.
Brazil and England were the biggest disappointment of the tournament.
Both Countries had star players that just couldn't find a way to work together and the superstar teams would pretty much beat themselves with individual play and no teamwork.
Teams that participated in 2006 World Cup tournament were:
Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Tunisia, Australia, Iran, Japan, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Paraguay.
2006 World Cup in Germany - CHAMPIONS
2006 Champions: Italy
2006 Runner Up: France
2006 Third Place: Germany
2006 Fourth Place: Portugal
2006 World Cup in Germany - TOP GOALSCORERS
| GER Miroslav KLOSE | 5 |
| ARG Hernan CRESPO | 3 |
| BRA RONALDO | 3 |
| FRA Zinedine ZIDANE | 3 |
| ESP David VILLA | 3 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - STATISTICS
| Number of teams | 32 |
| Number of games | 64 |
| Total Goals scored | 147 |
| Average per game | 2,3 |
| Total attendance | 3,400,439 |
| Average attendance | 55,491 |
| Final attendance | 58,628 |
| Golden ball | Zinedine ZIDANE (FRA) |
| Golden shoe | Miroslav KLOSE (GER) |
| Best Goalkeeper | Gianluigi BUFFON (ITA) |
| Best young player | Lukas PODOLSKI (GER) |
| Fair play award | Spain, Brazil |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Group A
| Germany vs Costa Rica | 4-2 |
| Ecuador vs Poland | 2-0 |
| Germany vs Poland | 1-0 |
| Ecuador vs Costa Rica | 3-0 |
| Germany vs Ecuador | 3-0 |
| Poland vs Costa Rica | 2-1 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Germany | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 9 |
| Ecuador | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
| Poland | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Costa Rica | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
2006 World Cup Football in Germany - Group B
| England vs Paraguay | 1-0 |
| Trinidad and Tobago vs Sweden | 0-0 |
| England vs Trinidad and Tobago | 2-0 |
| Sweden vs Paraguay | 1-0 |
| Sweden vs England | 2-2 |
| Paraguay vs Trinidad and Tobago | 2-0 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| England | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Sweden | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Group C
| Argentina vs Côte d'Ivoire | 2-1 |
| Netherlands vs Serbia and Montenegro | 1-0 |
| Argentina vs Serbia and Montenegro | 6-0 |
| Netherlands vs Côte d'Ivoire | 2-1 |
| Netherlands vs Argentina | 0-0 |
| Côte d'Ivoire vs Serbia and Montenegro | 3-2 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Argentina | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| Netherlands | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Côte d'Ivoire | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 3 |
| Serbia and Montenegro | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 0 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Group D
| Mexico vs Iran | 3-1 |
| Portugal vs Angola | 1-0 |
| Mexico vs Angola | 0-0 |
| Portugal vs Iran | 2-0 |
| Portugal vs Mexico | 2-1 |
| Iran vs Angola | 1-1 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Portugal | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 9 |
| Mexico | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Angola | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Iran | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Group E
| Italy vs Ghana | 2-0 |
| Czech Republic vs USA | 3-0 |
| Italy vs USA | 1-1 |
| Ghana vs Czech Republic | 2-0 |
| Italy vs Czech Republic | 2-0 |
| Ghana vs USA | 2-1 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Italy | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| Ghana | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Czech Republic | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| USA | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Group F
| Brazil vs Croatia | 1-0/tr |
| Australia vs Japan | 3-1 |
| Brazil vs Australia | 2-0 |
| Japan vs Croatia | 0-0 |
| Brazil vs Japan | 4-1 |
| Croatia vs Australia | 2-2 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Brazil | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 9 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Croatia | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Japan | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Group G
| France vs Switzerland | 0-0 |
| Korea Republic vs Togo | 2-1 |
| France vs Korea Republic | 1-1 |
| Switzerland vs Togo | 2-0 |
| France vs Togo | 2-0 |
| Switzerland vs Korea Republic | 2-0 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| France | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 |
| Korea Republic | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Togo | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Group H
| Spain vs Ukraine | 4-0 |
| Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia | 2-2 |
| Spain vs Tunisia | 3-1 |
| Ukraine vs Saudi Arabia | 4-0 |
| Spain vs Saudi Arabia | 1-0 |
| Ukraine vs Tunisia | 1-0 |
| Team | Played | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Points |
| Spain | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| Ukraine | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
| Tunisia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Round of 16
| Germany vs Sweden | 2-0 |
| Argentina vs Mexico | 2-1 after extra time |
| England vs Ecuador | 1-0 |
| Portugal vs Netherlands | 1-0 |
| Italy vs Australia | 1-0 |
| Ukraine vs Switzerland | 0-0 after extra time, 3-0 after penalties |
| Brazil vs Ghana | 3-0 |
| France vs Spain | 3-1 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Quarter-Finals
| Germany vs Argentina | 1-1 after extra time, 4-2 after penalties |
| Italy vs Ukraine | 3-0 |
| Portugal vs England | 0-0 after extra time, 3-1 after penalties |
| France vs Brazil | 1-0 |
2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany - Semi-Finals
| Italy vs Germany | 2-0 after extra time |
| France vs Portugal | 1-0 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Third Place
| Germany vs Portugal | 3-1 |
2006 World Cup in Germany - Final
| Italy vs France | 1-1 after extra time, 5-3 after penalties |
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| World Cup Soccer Results Hello and welcome to my list of World Cup winners and the complete results of every World Cup game going back to 1930 when the first World Cup was held in Uruguay. |
| 2010 World Cup 2010 World Cup was held in South Africa from June 6th until July 7th, 2006. |
| 2006 World Cup 2006 World Cup was held in Germany from June 6th until July 7th, 2006. |
| 2002 World Cup 2002 World Cup was held in Korea/Japan from May 31st until June 30th, 2002. |
| 1998 World Cup This years tournament was brought back to the home of Jules Rimet, father of the FIFA World Cup. |
| 1994 World Cup 1994 World Cup was held in United States from June 17th until July 17th, 1994. |
| 1990 World Cup This would be one of the world cups that was low on goals and high on drama. This world cup was also the lowest scoring tournament so far with only 115 goals scored in 52 matches. |
| 1986 World Cup Columbia was the first choice to host this world cup, however due to financial reasons Columbia had to back out and the hosting of this years tournament went to Mexico. |
| 1982 World Cup Brazil was the favorite to win it with the dream team midfield consisting of world class players such as Zico, Falcao, Socrates and Eder but to everyone's surprise Brazil would be knocked out by the underdog Italy in the second round. |
| 1978 World Cup Dutch Johan Cruyff and German Franz Beckenbauer were missing from this world cup with Beckenbauer retiring from International Soccer/Football and Cruyff not showing up with the Dutch squad, which came as a surprise to everyone. |
| 1974 World Cup With Pele retired, spotlight was taken over by Netherlands Johan Cruyff and German Franz Beckenbauer, player who revolutionized the libero role on the field. |
| 1970 World Cup This is the first tournament that would be broadcasted in color around the world allowing millions of people to watch some of the most amazing soccer/football in the history of this great game. |
| 1966 World Cup England menager Alf Ramsey said confidently that this was Englands year to win the Jules Rimet Cup. After it was all played and done, Ramsey would not be wrong. |
| 1962 World Cup It was a tournament where Brazil would successfully defend their title and also show the world that Brazil was rising up and considered to be one of the best football/soccer nations for many years to come. |
| 1958 World Cup This is the historic event where, than 17 year old Pele would be seen for the first time in the most competitive soccer event ever held. |
| 1954 World Cup This World Cup would have the most surprising ending of all the World Cups in the history of this great tournament. |
| 1950 World Cup 1950 World Cup was the tournament that brought everyone together after the grueling and bloody World War II was finished. |
| 1938 World Cup 1938 World Cup tournament was the last World Cup before the cold and bloody World War II and France had the honor of hosting it. |
| 1934 World Cup 1934 World Cup was hosted by Italy. |
| 1930 First World Cup Uruguay hosted the first World Cup in the history of soccer/football in July, 1930. |