THE ROAD TO RUSSIA: 2006
The 18th edition of the World Cup was held from June 9 to July 9, 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003.
Thirty-one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation for the finals. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition (after 1974 as West Germany), the 10th time that it was held in Europe.
The tournament was won by Italy, who claimed their fourth World Cup title. They defeated France 5-3 in a penalty shootout in the final, after extra time had finished in a 11 draw. Germany defeated Portugal 3-1 to finish third.
Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Trinidad and Tobago and Togo made their first appearances in the finals. It was also the first appearance of Serbia and Montenegro under that name; they had previously appeared in 1998 as Yugoslavia.
The 2006 World Cup was one of the most watched events in television history, with an estimated 26.29 billion non-unique viewers over the course of the tournament. The final attracted an estimated audience of 715.1 million people The 2006 World Cup ranks fourth in non-unique viewers, behind the World Cups in 1994, 2002, and 1990.
This was the first World Cup with three Portuguese-speaking teams, namely Portugal, Brazil and Angola. It also first featured the first allEuropean World Cup semi-finals since 1982.
As many as 147 goals were scored by 110 different players in 64 matches at an average of 2.29 goals per match. Germany’s Miroslav Klose received the Golden Boot for his five goals. There were four self goals.
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