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Germany 20

06

 
Background

The eighteenth FIFA World Cup Finals were awarded to Germany on 7 July 2002 in Zürich, Switzerland.

Germany were glorious despite the challenge of South Africa by a single vote in the third round of voting.  England had been dismissed following the second round of voting, gaining only two of the 24 votes available.  Morocco fell at the first hurdle of voting.

First round: Germany (ten votes), South Africa (six), England (five), Morocco (three).
Second Round: Germany and South Africa (eleven),
England (two).
Third Round: Germany (twelve),
South Africa (eleven).



The Draw

FIFA's World Cup 2006 Organising Committee divided the 32 qualifying teams into eight groups for the final tournament at the World Cup Final Draw, held on 9 December 2005 in The Neue Messe in Leipzig, Germany.

Seeded South America/
Africa/Oceania
Europe CONCACAF/
Asia
Special Pot
Argentina Angola Croatia Costa Rica Serbia & Montenegro
Brazil Australia Czech Republic Iran
England Côte d'Ivoire Netherlands Japan
France Ecuador Poland Korea Republic
Germany Ghana Portugal Saudi Arabia
Italy Paraguay Sweden Trinidad & Tobago
Mexico Togo Switzerland United States
Spain Tunisia Ukraine  

 

The Build-Up

5 June: After two warm-up victories at Old Trafford, against Hungary and Jamaica, the England squad had a final training session at Watford, before flying to Germany. Wayne Rooney (recovering from a broken foot) and Gary Neville (hamstring) trained alone, whilst John Terry, Ashley Cole and David Beckham sat out the session due to knocks picked up against Jamaica. The squad then flew to Karlsruhe (with Jermain Defoe included as a reserve for Rooney if he failed to prove his fitness) and on to their base at Baden-Baden, in the Black Forest.

6 June: Rooney continued to prove his fitness at the Mittelberg training ground and Gary Neville returned to full training.

7 June: Rooney jumped on a private jet that whisked him back to Manchester for a scan, returning afterwards to the England camp, upon which his place in the squad was confirmed (though he would not be risked in the first game). Defoe, subsequently, returned home. The rest of the squad, meanwhile, practised set pieces behind closed doors, though Steven Gerrard opted out as a precaution, to rest a sore back.

8 June: Gerrard missed a second day's training, whilst Rooney played in a practice match with the squad.

9 June: The squad trained in the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, with Gerrard returning.

 

First Phase Table
Group B
Team P W D L F A GD Pts
England 3 2 1 0 5 2 +3 7
Sweden 3 1 2 0 3 2 +1 5
Paraguay 3 1 0 2 2 2 =0 3
Trinidad & Tobago 3 0 1 2 0 4 -4 1
 
10 June 2006 - both CEST
3:00pm - England 1 Paraguay 0 [1-0]
Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt (48,000)
Gamarra OG
6:00pm -
Trinidad & Tobago 0 Sweden 0
[0-0]
Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund (62,959)
John

"ENGLAND EARN THE LAST LAUGH
"It had not been pretty...it had even induced boredom.
"Give the ball away as cheaply against a good team and England will not win the World Cup.
"They were clinging on against moderate opponents." - The Times, 12 June 2006

"Frank Lampard" - FIFA Man of the Match

"It said much for the quality of football that the biggest cheer of the game came when a Robinson clearance hit the giant video screen hanging over the centre circle. England can say job done, but to justify the pre-tournament hype, their performance must improve ten-fold." - Shoot Monthly

"For most of the first half we played the football we should have played. We could have scored more goals. But the last few minutes of the first half, and for a long time in the second, we struggled to keep the ball and to come out as a team, and we gave away a lot of possession." - Sven-Göran Eriksson

15 June 2006 - both CEST
6:00pm -
England 2 Trinidad & Tobago 0 [0-0]
easyCredit-Stadion, Nürnberg (41,000)
Crouch, Gerrard
9:00pm - Sweden 1 Paraguay 0 [0-0]
Olympiastadion, Berlin (72,000)
Ljungberg

"ENGLAND TURN ON LATE SHOW
"You might not think there was a cloud on England's World Cup horizon if you tuned in purely for the last seven minutes.
"...they are not making any new converts with their predictable football.
"Nevertheless, Eriksson could claim that it is job done so far." - The Times, 16 June 2006

"It remains a fundamental flaw in Eriksson's reign that after five years the approach is more piecemeal than planned. Certainly, there seems no apparent blueprint in place designed to maximise the amount of time players spend on the ball..." - Daily Express, 16 June 2006

"England need more patience and less long balls. That is just free advice." - Leo Beenhakker

"David Beckham" - FIFA Man of the Match

"Another three points but no real improvement in quality..." - Shoot Monthly

20 June 2006 - both 9.00pm CEST
Sweden 2 England 2 [0-1]
RheinEnergie Stadion, Köln (45,000)
Allbäck, Larsson
J.Cole, Gerrard
Paraguay 2 Trinidad & Tobago 0 [1-0]
Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern (46,000)
Sancho OG, Cuevas

"ENGLAND LIMP ON AS OWEN HOBBLES OUT
"...there was collective desperation at times...
"England's improvement on the first two performances...made the second-half relapse all the more troubling.
"Having lost their leading scorer, England can scarcely afford to wobble at the back."
- The Times, 21 June 2006.

"Sven-Göran Eriksson's men tormented Sweden for half of this match in sweltering Cologne, disappeared as usual into their shell and ended up with a draw that still ensured they topped Group B." - Daily Express, 21 June 2006.

"Joe Cole" - FIFA Man of the Match

"Although this is a game they should have won, a point apiece suits England better than their opponents..." - Shoot Monthly


The Second Phase

24 June 2006 - all CEST
5:00pm - Germany 2 Sweden 0 [2-0]
Allianz Arena, München (66,000)
Podolski (2)
Lučić
9:00pm - Argentina 2 Mexico 1 [1-1] AET [1-1]
Zentralstadion, Leipzig (43,000)
Crespo, Rodríguez
Márquez
25 June 2006
5:00pm - England 1 Ecuador 0 [0-0]
Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart (52,000)
Beckham
9:00pm - Portugal 1 Netherlands 0 [1-0]
Frankenstadion, Nürnberg (41,000)
Maniche
Costinha, Deco
Boulahrouz, van Bronckhorst

"ENGLAND LABOUR INTO LAST EIGHT
"There is no doubt that England deserved their victory in sweltering Stuttgart, but they were grateful that Ecuador provided such a flimsy test.
"...the Swede has yet to convince even his own squad that he can organise them.
"Lest we forget, England are unbeaten but it has been a plodding, laboured journey to the last eight." - The Times, 26 June 2006

"Boy, do this lot like to do it the hard way. Rarely can there have been a tournament where England have played so badly, so often - and yet still been in there fighting.
"In the end, the old jalopy - patched up, prone to misfiring and sudden switches into reverse, with bits falling off it all over the place - made it to the end of the road.
" - The Daily Express, 26 June 2006

"John Terry" - FIFA Man of the Match

"It was another hit-and-miss display by England, one minute looking comfortable in possession with Carrick in the holding midfield role, and the next giving the ball away cheaply to put themselves under pressure." - Shoot Monthly

26 June 2006 - all CEST
5:00pm - Italy 1 Australia 0 [0-0]
Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern (46,000)
Totti (pen)
Materazzi
9:00pm - Switzerland 0 Ukraine 0 [0-0]
AET [0-0] & Penalties [0-3]
RheinEnergie Stadion, Köln (45,000)
  
Penalty Shoot-out:- Shevchenko saved, Streller saved, Milevskiy 0-1, Barnetta crossbar, Rebrov 0-2, Cabanas saved, Husiev 0-3.
27 June 2006
5:00pm - Brazil 3 Ghana 0 [2-0]
Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund (65,000)
Ronaldo, Adriano, Zé Roberto
Gyan
9:00pm - Spain 1 France 3 [1-1]
Allgemeiner Wirtschaftsdienst Arena, Hannover (43,000)
Villa (pen)
Ribéry, Vieira, Zidane
Round of sixteen

Quarter Finals

30 June 2006 - all CEST
5:00pm - Germany 1 Argentina 1 [0-0]
AET [1-1] & Penalties [4-2]
Olympiastadion, Berlin (72,000)
Klose
Ayala
Cufré
Penalty Shoot-out:- Neuville 1-0, Cruz 1-1, Ballack 2-1, Ayala saved, Podolski 3-1, Rodríguez 3-2, Borowski 4-2, Cambiasso saved.
9:00pm - Italy 3 Ukraine 0 [1-0]
America On-line Arena, Hamburg (50,000)
Zambrotti, Toni (2)
1 July 2006
5:00pm - Portugal 0 England 0 [0-0]
AET
[0-0] & Penalties [1-3]

Veltins Arena, Gelsenkirchen (52,000)
  
Rooney
Penalty Shoot-out:- Simão 1-0, Lampard saved, Viana post, Hargreaves 1-1, Petit saved/post, Gerrard saved, Hélder Postiga 2-1, Carragher retaken saved, Ronaldo 3-1.
ENGLAND ARE ELIMINATED
9:00pm - Brazil 0 France 1 [0-0]
Commerzbank-Arena, Frankfurt (48,000)
Henry

"Only when they faced adversity in this World Cup did their bravery, their tenacity, their determination surface." - The People, 2 July 2006

"ERIKSSON'S EPITAPH: HE LACKED COURAGE
"Eriksson's regime will not deserve the sweeping brutality of many of the inquests, but, rightly, it will be for ever stamped "underachieved".
"Hargreaves cannot be expected to play like Superman every week - there were times on Saturday when he seemed to get on the end of his own passes...
"Even in extra time, England were a match for moderate opponents..." - The Times, 3 July 2006

"COMPLACENT TO THE LAST
"...three of England's penalty takers failed with attempts in which the slackness of their body language spoke of men who were ready to put their trust in the belief...that their reputations alone would be enough to ensure their success.
"Where, on Saturday, was the Englishman prepared to take control of the game...?
"...almost every England move would start from a static position, with the opposition well prepared for counter-measures." - The Guardian, 3 July 2006

"If you see the teams in the semi-finals, we should be there." - Sven-Göran Eriksson

"Owen Hargreaves" - FIFA Man of the Match

"...this was England's best opportunity in several generations to win the biggest prize of all - and they blew it." - Shoot Monthly

Semi Finals

4 July 2006 - both 9:00pm CEST
Germany 0 Italy 2 [0-0] AET [0-0]
Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund (65,000)
Grosso, Del Piero
5 July 2006
Portugal 0 France 1 [0-1]
Allianz Arena, München (66,000)
Zidane (pen)

 

Third Place Play off

8 July 2006 - 9:00pm CEST
Germany 3 Portugal 1 [0-0]
Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart (52,000)
Schweinsteiger (2), Petit OG
Nuno Gomes

 

The 2006 Final

9 July 2006 - 8:00pm CEST
Italy 1 France 1 [1-1]
AET [1-1] & Penalties [5-3]
Olympiastadion, Berlin (69,000)
Materazzi
Zidane (pen)
Zidane
Penalty Shoot-out:- Pirlo 1-0, Wiltord 1-1, Materazzi 2-1, Trezeguet crossbar, De Rossi 3-1, Abidal 3-2, Del Piero 4-2, Sagnol 4-3, Grosso 5-3.

 

CG/GI