Second Round and Quarterfinals

The match of the second round was the seven-goal thriller between Belgium and the Soviet Union, in which the Soviets' Igor Belanov scored a hat-trick and still ended up on the losing side. The game was tied at 2-2 after 90 minutes, and in extra time Stephane Demol and Nico Claesen put Belgium 4-2 up. Belanov scored from the penalty spot with nine minutes remaining, but neither he nor any of his team-mates could find a fourth goal for the Soviet Union. Two of Europe's great football nations met in Mexico City, where France, the European Champions, ended Italy's reign as World Champions with a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Michel Platini and Yannick Stopyra. In the rematch of the 1930 World Cup final, Argentina just edged out South American champions Uruguay in Puebla thanks to a 42nd minute strike from Pedro Pasculli. The all-South American affair was notable for a Diego Maradona's disallowed goal.
Perhaps the most surprising scoreline of the second round came from Queretaro, where Denmark, who were billed as dark horses for the tournament, were eliminated although there was nothing gracious about their exit as they went from a 1-0 lead to a 5-1 battering against Spain; key player Frank Arnesen was suspended for the game after being sent off against West Germany in their last group match, for taking a swipe at German playmaker Lothar Matthäus. The Danes scored first, with a Jesper Olsen penalty, but they were then taken apart by a devastating performance from Butragueño of Spain, who scored four of his team's five goals. The other maulings of the second round came from England and Brazil. England progressed to the quarter-finals fairly comfortably when they saw off Paraguay 3-0 while Brazil brushed aside Poland 4-0. West Germany had a much harder time getting past Morocco, for whom goalkeeper Ezaki Zaki had an outstanding game in goal. Morocco held out until the 87th minute, when Lothar Matthaeus finally managed to score the only goal of the game. Mexico kept the home supporters happy with a 2-0 win over Bulgaria.The most memorable quarter-final match saw France face the other three-time world champion, Brazil in Guadalajara. Brazil were well on top in the early stages, and Careca put them one up after 18 minutes. But then, five minutes before half-time, France drew level when Michel Platini scored his 41st goal on his 31st birthday after converting a cross from Dominique Rocheteau. Brazil had a great chance to regain the lead in the second half when Branco was fouled by French 'keeper Joël Bats in the penalty area. Zico got up to take the kick, but Bats made amends for his foul by saving Zico's penalty.The match went to extra time, and France had the better of the extra half-hour. But no more goals were scored, and so it was time for a penalty shoot-out. Surprisingly, Socrates failed with the first kick for Brazil. The next six penalties were all converted, and then Platini fired over the bar. Brazil were back on level terms - but not for long. Julio Cesar struck the post with his penalty, and Luis Fernández then scored to put France through 4-3 on penalties.Two other quarter-finals were also decided on penalties. Jan Ceulemans put Belgium ahead against Spain in the 35th minute, but Spanish substitute Senor equalised with five minutes to go. No more goals were scored in extra time, and Belgium won the shoot-out 5-4. West Germany and Mexico drew 0-0 after extra time, and the West Germans eliminated the hosts 4-1 on penalties.The quarter-final between Argentina, the last South American representative left, and England was unforgettable because of the two totally different goals scored by Diego Maradona: the first was scored illegally, as he punched the ball into the goal past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The referee did not see the foul and the goal was given as valid. After the game, Maradona claimed the goal was scored "A bit with the head of Maradona and another bit with the hand of God"; it was known as the "The Hand of God" goal. For his second goal, voted "Goal of the Century" in 2002 on the FIFA website, Maradona dribbled half the length of the field past five English players before scoring. In Argentina, the game was not just seen as revenge for the Falklands War but mostly for what they still see as the unfair game in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.

First Round

The format of the competition changed from 1982: 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four (A through F). The top two teams and the four best third place finishers from the six groups advanced to the knockout round of 16 teams.The first round of the finals began in Group A, where Italy were held 1-1 by a dour but spirited Bulgaria side. Meanwhile, Argentina had little trouble beating South Korea 3-1, with Diego Maradona in awesome form. Italy and Argentina drew 1-1 in a bad tempered affair, which saw Maradona and Alessandro Altobelli scoring. South Korea and Bulgaria also drew 1-1 in a Mexican downpour. The final set of matches saw Argentina beating Bulgaria 2-0, and Italy narrowly defeating South Korea 3-2 in an exciting match.Group B was straightforward for the hosts, Mexico as they beat a defensive Belgium side 2-1, and despite being held 1-1 by Paraguay, they won the group after a further win over minnows Iraq, 1-0. Paraguay and Belgium also progressed after both beating Iraq and drawing with each other. Group C was an interesting contest as it pitted a strong Soviet Union side against the reigning European Champions France. They drew with each other in a fine match 1-1, which was notable for a fantastic goal by Vasili Rats. France has made hard work of beating Canada 1-0, but progressed in 2nd place after beating a demoralised and ageing Hungary, 3-0. Hungary had earlier lost 6-0 against the Soviet Union.Group D saw Brazil start sluggishly against Spain, winning 1-0, although Spain had a legitimate goal disallowed. Northern Ireland began their campaign with a draw against Algeria. Northern Ireland were then beaten narrowly by Spain before being simply outclassed by Brazil 3-0 in their final match. This match saw a great goal from Josimar on his debut and was also the final time Pat Jennings would play for Northern Ireland. Spain qualified along with Brazil after defeating Algeria 3-0. Denmark, stormed through Group E, highly dubbed the group of death with a 100 per cent record. They beat Scotland 1-0 in their first game, then hammered Uruguay 6-1, with Preben Elkjær Larsen hitting a hat-trick. But Denmark's most impressive result were when they beat one of the favourites to win the tournament, West Germany, 2-0 thanks to a Jesper Olsen penalty and a goal from John Eriksen. After losing to Denmark, Scotland took the lead against West Germany thanks to a Gordon Strachan goal, but the West Germans fought back to win 2-1. And after a violent 0-0 draw against Uruguay, the Scots were eliminated from the tournament. West Germany went through to the second round with the strength of a win and a 1-1 draw with Uruguay, who also qualified on just two draws.Morocco topped Group F after holding both Poland and England to goalless draws, and then playing some marvellous football to beat Portugal, 3-1. By doing so, they became the first African team to reach the second round, and obviously the first to win a group. England looked to be in trouble after losing 1-0 to Portugal and then drew with the Moroccans. But in their last first-round game, a first-half Gary Lineker hat-trick helped them beat Poland 3-0. Poland had previously beaten Portugal, and in the end the Portuguese were the only team from Group F to be eliminated in the first round.

Qualification

Three teams qualified for the World Cup for the first time: Canada, Denmark and Iraq. Canada clinched its spot after winning the final match against Honduras 2-1 in St. John's, Newfoundland, with the Hondurans wearing tuques and gloves on the field due to the cold weather. Iraq played all matches on neutral ground due to the Iran-Iraq war.

1986 FIFA World Cup

The 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 13th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Mexico from May 31 to June 29. It was won by Argentina (second title after 1978), who beat West Germany 3-2 in the final at Mexico City's Estadio Azteca.

Host selection

Colombia was originally chosen as hosts by FIFA in June 1974. However, the Colombian authorities declared in November 1982 that they could not afford to host the World Cup under the terms that FIFA demanded. Mexico was selected on May 20, 1983 as the replacement hosts, beating the bids of Canada, and the United States (who eventually hosted the 1994 World Cup), and became the first nation to host two World Cups. This second World Cup in Mexico came only 16 years after the first one in 1970. A severe earthquake in September 1985, eight months before the tournament, cast doubt over Mexico's ability to organize the event; however, the stadiums were not affected and it was decided to go ahead with the preparations. As 1986 had been declared the International Year of Peace by the United Nations, the advertising boards of all the stadia displayed the emblems of FIFA and the United Nations along with the legend "Football for Peace - Peace Year".For the design of the logo an unofficial motto was adopted: " El Mundo Unido por Un Balón" (The world united by a ball)

Semi-finals, third-place match, and final

In the wake of its brilliant second-round performance, Italy easily dispatched Poland in the first semi-final through two goals from Paolo Rossi. However, this stunning performance by the Italians was immediately overshadowed by the unforgettable confrontation between France and West Germany. After the Germans opened the scoring through an inspired Pierre Littbarski strike in the 17th minute, the French held on, equalising nine minutes later with a Michel Platini penalty. The closely fought match continued until the middle of the second half when a long through ball sent French defender Patrick Battiston racing clear towards the German goal. With both Battiston adn the lone German defender trying to be the first to reach the ball, Battiston flicked it past German keeper Harald Schumacher from the edge of the German penalty area and Schumacher reacted by jumping to block it. Schumacher missed the ball and twisted his body in mid-air to turn his front away from the impact, so that his buttocks first connected with Battiston which knocked the French player unconscious and caused two of his teeth to fall out. The ball went just wide of the post and, to the vociferous astonishment of the French, Dutch referee Charles Corver deemed Schumacher's assault on Battiston to be not a foul and awarded a goal kick. Play was interrupted for several minutes while Battiston, still unconscious, was carried off the field on a stretcher. The match went on without retaliatory violent actions, to the credit of both teams. After French defender Manuel Amoros had sent a thundering 25-metre drive crashing onto the West German crossbar in the final minute, the match went into extra time. On 92 minutes, France's sweeper Marius Trésor, in a rare attack, fired a splendid swerving volley under Schumacher's crossbar from ten metres out to make it 2-1. Six minutes later, an unmarked Alain Giresse drove in a beautiful 18-metre shot off the inside of the right post to finish off a counter-attack and put France up 3-1. But West Germany would not give up. In the 102nd minute a flowing counter-attack culminated in a cross that recent substitute Karl-Heinz Rummenigge turned in at the near post from a difficult angle with the outside of his foot, reducing France's lead to 3-2. Then in the 108th minute Germany took a short corner and after France failed to clear their lines once, the ball was played around by Germany to Littbarski whose sublime cross to Horst Hrubesch was headed back to the centre to Klaus Fischer who was unmarked thanks to Hrubesch winning his header over two defenders. Fischer in turn volleyed the ball past French keeper Jean-Luc Ettori with one of his trademark spectacular bicycle kicks, levelling the scores at 3-3 and sending the match to penalties. This goal was voted the greatest goal in the history of German football by German supporters. In penalties, Giresse, Manfred Kaltz, Manuel Amoros, Paul Breitner and Dominique Rocheteau all converted penalties until Uli Stielike was stopped by Ettori, giving France a huge advantage. But then Schumacher stepped forward, lifted the tearful Stielike from the ground, and promptly pulled off a diving stop on Didier Six's shot. With Germany handed the lifeline they needed Littbarski converted his penalty, followed by Platini for France, and then Rummenigge for Germany as the tension mounted. France defender Maxime Bossis, a pillar of strength on the left flank throughout the tournament, then had his kick parried by Schumacher who anticipated it well, and Hrubesch stepped up confidently to score and send Germany to the World Cup final yet again with a 3–3 (4–5) victory on penalties. The match is today considered the greatest ever played in the competition and one of the greatest matches all-time, with the only argument generally being Italy's epic semi-final win over West Germany in FIFA World Cup 1970. Asked years later what he thought of the game, Michel Platini replied, "For me, no book or film or play could ever recapture the way I felt that day. It was so complete, so strong and so fabulous."Coming after in the wake of Italy's spectacular quarter-final victory of the favoured Brazilians and on the heals of the monumental French-German semifinal, the final seemed anticlimactic. The Italians were fresh and confident following their easy win over Poland, but the West Germans were tired and had not recovered from the bruising epic in which they had been involved only days earlier against one the tournament's toughest teams. After a scoreless first half during which Antonio Cabrini fired a penalty wide of goal, the fresher legs of the Italians and the confidence gained from their previous two victories began to make the difference between the teams. After a deliberate foul just outside the area by Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Italian central defender Claudio Gentile raced upfield to set the ball and initiate the quick restart, catching the German Goalkeeper Schumacher out of position and the German defence unprepared. Paolo Rossi scored first for the third straight game by heading home Gentile's bouncing cross at close range. Once behind, the Germans threw more men forward at the expense of defence in the hopes they could equalise quickly without having to exert too much control. This choice was problematic for them, in their tired condition, and left large gaps at the back for Italy to counter-attack. Exploiting the situation, the Azzurri scored twice more on quick counter-strikes, all the while capitalising on their best-in-the-world defence to hold the Germans. With Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea of Juventus holding the centre, the Italian strikers were free to counter-punch the weakened German defence. Marco Tardelli's splendid shot from the edge of the area (and his legendary shouting and arm-pumping celebration) beat Schumacher first, and Alessandro Altobelli, the substitute for injured striker Francesco Graziani, made it 3-0 at the end of a trademark solo sprint down the right side by the stand-out winger Bruno Conti. Italy's lead appeared secure, encouraging Italian president Sandro Pertini to wag his finger at the cameras in a playful "not going to catch us now" gesture, overcoming an initial reluctance from the Italian crowd to declare victory early after West Germany's famous comeback in the semi-final. In the 83rd minute, however, Paul Breitner managed to put a small scare back into the Italians by driving home a goal against the otherwise spectacular Dino Zoff but it was never enough and Italy claimed their first World Cup title in 48 years, and their third in total with a 3-1 victory.Coming after the 1934 and 1938 victories, Italy had now drawn level with record champions Brazil. Italy's Paolo Rossi won both the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer, and the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player (handed out for the very first time), and 40-year-old captain-goalkeeper Dino Zoff became the oldest-ever player to win the World Cup. Germany would recover to reach the World Cup final again in 1986 and finally winning in 1990.In the third-place match, Poland edged an exhausted, depleted and emotionally drained French side 3-2 which matched Poland's best ever performance at a World Cup previously achieved in 1974. France would go on to win the European Championship two years later

Second Group Round

Poland opened Group A with a 3-0 defeat of Belgium thanks to a Zbigniew Boniek hat-trick. The Soviet Union prevailed 1-0 in the next match over a Belgian side which clearly had peaked too early in the tournament. The Poles edged out the USSR for the semifinal spot on the final day on goal difference thanks to a 0-0 draw in a politically charged match, as Poland's then-Communist government had imposed a martial law a few months earlier to quash internal dissent and forestall a Soviet invasion.In Group B, a tense yet fair-minded opening match between England and West Germany ended in a goalless draw. West Germany took an option on the semifinal spot in their second match by beating Spain 2-1. The home side salvaged some national pride on the last day by drawing 0-0 against England, denying Ron Greenwood's team a semi-final place.
It was in Group C, a true Group of Death with Brazil, Argentina and Italy, that World Cup history was made. In the opener, the Azzurri prevailed 2-1 over Diego Maradona's side after an ill-tempered, obscure battle in which Italian defenders Gaetano Scirea and Claudio Gentile proved to be able to stop the Argentinian attack. Gentile's dominance of Maradona is still considered one of the best performances of all time for a marking defensive back. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil on the second day, but they were no match as the Seleção attacking game, characterised by nimble, one-touch passing on-the-run, eclipsed the reigning World Champions. The final score of 3-1 — Argentina only scoring in the last minute — could have been much higher had Brazil centre-forward Serginho not wasted a series of near-certain scoring opportunities. Perhaps in frustration at his side's powerlessness, Maradona allowed himself a kick in the groin of Brazil defender Batista and was sent off a few minutes from time.
The third-day match between Brazil and Italy was the tournament shocker. Brazil brought to the game the best and most sophisticated and modern offense in the world, characterized by their precision one-touch passing on the run, Italy their vaunted and smothering defence built around the two central defenders, Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea. The majority of the game, in fact, was played around the Italian area, with the Italian mid-fielders and defenders returning the repeated set volleys of Brazilian shooters such as Zico, Socrates and Falcao. Italian centre back Claudio Gentile was assigned to mark Brazilian striker Zico, and his brutal play earned him a yellow card and a sit-out for the following game against Poland. Enzo Bearzot's opportunistic striker, Paolo Rossi, silent thus far in the tournament, opened the scoring when he stepped past a Brazilian defender who had been screening him, intercepted an ill-advised pass across the Brazilians' own goal, and drilled the shot home. Rossi's opportunism shocked the Brazilians. Twice Italy gained the lead on Paolo Rossi goals, and twice Brazil came back. At 2-2, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but at 74 minutes, a poor clearance on an Italy corner kick went back to the Brazil six-yard line where Rossi and Francesco Graziani were waiting. Both world-class strikers reflexively aimed at the same shot, Rossi connecting to get a hat trick and sending Italy into the lead for good. At this point, the Italians fell back into their trademark defensive style, and smothered the Brazilians the rest of the way. This great semifinal upset is still considered one of the best all-time matches of World Cup history.
To this day, Brazilian football aficionados consider this a great upset, given the facts that 1) Brazil had a spectacular campaign up to that point, 2) Italy had advanced to the quarter-finals with only a single victory and the rest of their games tied, and 3) that Rossi, who would go on to become the tournament's top scorer and win the Golden Boot, had not scored a single goal in the tournament before this match. The game was also a contest between Brazil's offensive brilliance and Italy's defensive discipline, coupled with a calculated counter-strike strategy in which Italy kept ten men around their area and left only Paolo Rossi high to seize opportune moments. The Italian strategy worked, first, because the Brazilians could never outnumber the Italians in the Italian area, and second because of the standout defensive performances by centre backs Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea.The last group, Group D, paled in comparison, the unexpected second-place finish of Spain in the first round having sent them to another group and cleared a path for the French. Les Bleus dispatched Austria 1-0 in their opener, then strolled 4-1 past Northern Ireland for their first semifinal appearance since 1958.

First round

The format of the competition changed from 1978: for the first time, 24 teams qualified, divided into six groups of four (1 through 6). The top two teams in each group advanced to the second round, where they split into four groups of three (A to D). The winners of each group advanced to the semi-finals. This was the only World Cup to be played under this format. The decision to expand from 16 to 24 teams came from FIFA to give the opportunity to more teams to participate, especially teams from North America, Africa and Asia. The first round was marked by a series of surprisingly strong showings by these supposedly weaker teams, although the more established football powers generally prevailed in advancing to the next stage. In Group 1, first-time participants Cameroon held both Poland and Italy to draws, and only failing to advance only on the basis of fewer goals scored than Italy. However, there was some controversy in the group. In the Peru-Cameroon game, Cameroonian striker Roger Milla had a goal disallowed for offside, but TV replays showed that Milla was clearly onside when he scored the goal. The decision contributed to Cameroon's early exit, as Italy would have been eliminated instead if Milla's goal stood. As a result, Poland and Italy qualified over Cameroon and Peru. Italian journalists and tifosi criticised their team for their uninspired performances that managed three draws; the squad was reeling from the recent Serie A scandal, where national players were suspended for match fixing and illegal betting. Paolo Rossi was singled out for his poor form, being described as a ghost wandering aimlessly over the field. The Azzurri decided on a press black-out from then on, with only coach Enzo Bearzot and captain Dino Zoff allowed to speak to the press. Group 2 saw one of the great World Cup upsets on the first day with the 2-1 victory of Algeria over reigning European Champion West Germany. This memorable game resulted in the controversial match between West Germany and Austria, their third and final match. As Algeria had already played their third match the day before, West Germany and Austria knew that a West German win by 1 or 2 goals would qualify them both, while a larger German victory would qualify Algeria over Austria, and a draw or an Austrian win would eliminate the Germans. The fourth team in the group, Chile, were eliminated regardless of the outcome. After 10 minutes of furious attack, West Germany succeeded in scoring through a goal by Horst Hrubesch. After the goal was scored, the two German-speaking teams went into an unspoken agreement and just kicked the ball around aimlessly for the rest of the match. Chants of "Fuera, fuera" ("Out, out") were screamed by the appalled Spanish crowd, while angry Algerian supporters waved banknotes at the players. This sham performance was widely deplored, even by the German and Austrian fans who had hoped for a hot rematch of the 1978 FIFA World Cup match in which Austria had beaten West Germany. One German fan was so upset by his team's display that he burned his German flag in disgust. As a result of the outcome, FIFA introduced a revised qualification system at subsequent World Cups in which the final two games in each group were played simultaneously. Group 3, where the opening ceremonies and first match of the tournament took place, yielded a major upset with Belgium beating defending champions Argentina 1–0. The Camp Nou stadium was the home of Barcelona, and many fans had wanted to see the club's new signing, Argentinian star Diego Maradona, who did not perform to expectations. Both Belgium and Argentina ultimately advanced at the expense of Hungary and El Salvador despite Hungary's 10-1 win over the Central American nation — which, with a total of 11 goals, is the second highest scoreline in a World Cup game (as well as Brazil's 6-5 victory over Poland in the 1938 tournament and Hungary's 8-3 victory over West Germany in the 1954 tournament), second to the 12-goal Austria-Switzerland (7-5) match in the 1954 tournament.
Group 4 opened at record speed with England midfielder Bryan Robson's goal against France after only 27 seconds of play. England won the game 3-1 and qualified along with France over Czechoslovakia and Kuwait, though the tiny Gulf emirate created yet another sensation by holding Czechoslovakia to a 1-1 draw. This group was also the stage of a farcical incident during the game between Kuwait and France. As Les Bleus were leading 3-1, France midfielder Alain Giresse scored a goal vehemently contested by the Kuwait team, who had stopped play after hearing a piercing whistle from the stands, as the French player was in a suspicious, arguably offside position, which they thought had come from Soviet referee Stupar. Play had not yet resumed when Sheikh Fahid Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, brother of the Kuwaiti Emir and president of the Kuwaiti Football Association, rushed onto the pitch to give the referee a vociferous piece of his mind. The visibly shaken Stupar countermanded his initial decision and disallowed the goal to the understandable fury of the French. Maxime Bossis scored another valid goal a few minutes later and France won 4-1. Stupar lost his international refereeing credentials due to this incident, and al-Sabah received a $10,000 fine. In Group 5, the uprising of the minnows continued with Honduras holding hosts Spain to a 1-1 draw, then became a full-fledged revolution as unfancied Northern Ireland won the group outright, eliminating Yugoslavia and beating Spain 1-0 on its home ground in the process, the result was even more impressive as Northern Ireland had to play the majority of the second half with ten men after Mal Donaghy was dismissed. The home team showed that they were not serious contenders this year, barely scraping by thanks to yet another controversial penalty in its 2-1 victory over Yugoslavia. All eyes were on Brazil in Group 6. Around Zico, Sócrates, Falcão, Éder and fellows, the rejuvenated auriverde boasted an offensive firepower that promised a return to the glory days of 1970. The tri-campeão lived up to all expectations, beating an unexpectedly strong Soviet side 2-1 in a very entertaining first match thanks to a 20 metre Éder goal two minutes from time, then Scotland and New Zealand with four goals each. The promising Soviets took the group's other qualifying berth at the expense of the Scots, Rinat Dasayev emerging as a worthy successor to all-time legend Lev Yashin in the Soviet goal with a rarely talked about save from Joe Jordan's header. The ball was virtually on the line when Dasayev flicked it around the post with his finger at the last possible moment, much to the disbelief of the Scots and watching spectators. New Zealand earned international respect in their World Cup opener against Scotland, cutting the Scots' 3-0 lead to 3-2 before conceding two more goals late in the game.

Qualification

The most surprising absences from the finals were those of 1974 and 1978 runners-up Netherlands (eliminated by Belgium and France), North America's power Mexico (eliminated by El Salvador), and to a lesser extent 1974 and 1978 participant Sweden (eliminated by Scotland and Northern Ireland). England, Czechoslovakia, Belgium, and the Soviet Union were back in the Finals after a 12-year absence. Yugoslavia were also back after missing the 1978 tournament. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait, and New Zealand all participated in the World Cup for the first time.

1982 FIFA World Cup

The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July. Spain was chosen as hosts by FIFA in July 1966. This World Cup was won by Italy, who beat West Germany 3-1 in the final. With their third World Cup title (after 1934 and 1938), Italy drew level with Brazil as the most successful nations at the World Cup. This tournament was marked by a series of great matches and is widely regarded as the second-best ever after the 1970 edition. This was also the first World Cup to feature 24 teams, an expansion from at most 16 in the previous tournaments.

Semi-finals, the third-place match, and the final

The first semi-final featured the host nation, Italy, and the world champion, Argentina. 'Toto' Schillaci scored yet again to put Italy ahead in the 17th minute, but Claudio Caniggia equalised midway through the second half. There were no more goals in the 90 minutes or in extra time, but there was a sending-off: Ricardo Giusti of Argentina was shown the red card in the 13th minute of extra time. Argentina went through on penalties, winning the shoot-out 4-3 . The semi-final between West Germany and England was goalless at half-time. Then, in the 60th minute, a shot from Andreas Brehme was deflected by Paul Parker, resulting in a goal. But then, with 10 minutes left, Gary Lineker equalised for England. The game ended 1-1, and West Germany won the penalty shoot-out 4-3. Italy and England played an uninspiring game for third place, with Roberto Baggio and Schillaci scoring to give the hosts a 2-1 win and the bronze medal.
The final between West Germany and Argentina, described by veteran football writer Brian Glanville as "probably the worst, most tedious, bad-tempered Final in the history of the World Cup",[1] produced several football firsts. In the 65th minute, Argentina's Pedro Monzon was sent off for a foul on Klinsmann, becoming the first player ever to be sent off in a World Cup final. It has been said that Klinsmann exaggerated his reaction to the foul, causing the referee to perhaps have been more severe with the punishment. Team-mate Gustavo Dezotti received the second red card of the game with four minutes left after he hauled Jürgen Kohler to the ground during a stoppage in play. Shortly before Dezotti's departure, referee Edgardo Codesal Mendez of Mexico awarded a penalty to West Germany, from which Andreas Brehme scored the only goal of the game. The 1-0 scoreline provided another first: Argentina were the first team ever to take part in a World Cup final without scoring. With its third title (and three second place finishes) West Germany became the most successful World Cup nation for four years, until Brazil won their fourth title in 1994. West German team manager Franz Beckenbauer became the second footballer, after Mário Zagallo of Brazil, to win the World Cup as a player (in 1974) and as team manager. In doing so, Beckenbauer also became the first captain of a winning team to later manage a winning squad. Italy's Salvatore Schillaci won both the Golden Boot as the tournament's top goalscorer, with six goals, and the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.
The 1990 World Cup is widely regarded as one of the poorest World Cups ever.[2] It generated a record low goals-per-game average and then-record of 16 red cards were handed out. Most teams relied heavily on defensive play and hard tackling, as well as aggressive intimidation of the referee. In the knockout stage, many teams would "play it safe" for 120 minutes and try their luck in the penalty shoot-out, rather than risk going forward. Ireland and Argentina were prime examples of this trend of cagey, defensive play; the Irish made it to the quarter-finals after scoring just twice in five games and drawing all their matches until their defeat to Italy. Argentina, meanwhile, scored only five times en route to the final. Cameroon were one of the few teams to choose and attacking style. Eventual champions West Germany also concentrated on offense-oriented play, but they too became more defensive as the tournament progressed.

Second round and quarter-finals

The second round featured some intriguing fixtures. Two of the ties - Argentina vs Brazil and Italy vs Uruguay - pitted former champion countries against each other, and West Germany met the Netherlands in a rematch of the 1974 World Cup final. The all-South American game turned out to be a tight, edgy affair, won for Argentina by a goal from Claudio Caniggia with ten minutes remaining from a magical run of Diego Maradona through the Brazilian defense and an outstanding performance from their goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea. A strong second half showing from Italy saw them beat Uruguay 2-0, thanks to another goal from Schillaci and one from Aldo Serena. The West Germany-Netherlands clash produced a repeat of the Euro 88 semifinal. The match turned ugly after 22 minutes when Rudi Völler and Frank Rijkaard, in an infamous moment, were dismissed after a bizarre spitting incident. Early in the second half, Jürgen Klinsmann put the West Germans ahead and Andreas Brehme added a second with eight minutes left. A Ronald Koeman penalty for Holland in the 89th minute narrowed the score to 2-1 but that was close as the Dutch would come and West Germany went through. Meanwhile, the heroics of Cameroon and Roger Milla continued. In Cameroon's game with Colombia, Milla was introduced in the 49th minute with the score still at 0-0. The scoreline stayed that way after 90 minutes, and after the first period of extra time. But then, as those around him tired, the veteran shone. Milla scored twice in four minutes in the second period of extra time. Bernardo Redin reduced the deficit for Colombia with five minutes left, but the 'Indomitable Lions' held out to win 2-1. For the first time ever, an African team was in the quarter-finals of the World Cup.
The other first-round giant-killers fared less well. Costa Rica were comfortably beaten 4-1 by Czechoslovakia, for whom Tomas Skuhravy scored a hat-trick. Yugoslavia beat Spain 2-1 after extra time, with Dragan Stojkovic scoring both the Yugoslavs' goals. The Republic of Ireland's match with Romania remained goalless after extra time, and the Irish side won through 5-4 on penalties. David O'Leary converted the penalty that clinched Ireland's place in the quarter-finals. The Republic of Ireland thus achieved the remarkable feat of reaching the last eight in a World Cup finals tournament without actually winning a match outright. England were the final qualifier after an uneventful game against Belgium, midfielder David Platt scoring the only goal in the final minute of extra-time. Despite Cameroon's heroics earlier in the tournament, David Platt put England ahead in the 25th minute of their quarter-final fixture. At half-time, Milla was brought on, and the game was turned on its head in the space of five second half minutes. First, Cameroon were awarded a penalty, from which Emmanuel Kunde scored the equaliser. Then, in the 65th minute, Eugene Ekeke put Cameroon ahead. The African team came within eight minutes of reaching the semi-finals, but conceded a penalty, which Gary Lineker gratefully converted. Midway through extra time, England were awarded another penalty, and Lineker again scored from the spot. England were through to the semi-finals. The Republic of Ireland's World Cup run was brought to an end by a single goal from Schillaci in the first half of their quarter-final with Italy. Another dull match saw West Germany beat Czechoslovakia with a 25th minute Lothar Matthäus penalty. Argentina and Yugoslavia played out a stalemate that stayed at 0-0 after extra time, despite the fact that Yugoslavia were reduced to ten men after half an hour when Refik Sabanadzovic, assigned with the task of marking Maradona, was sent off. Argentina reached the semi-finals after winning the penalty shoot-out 3-2. Tomislav Ivković achieved national fame by saving Maradona's kick and restoring parity to the penalty scoreline. Pedro Troglio then hit the post, and the World champions looked to be on their way out of the tournament until Sergio Goycochea rescued his side by stopping the Yugoslavs' final two penalty kicks.

First round

format of the 1990 competition remained the same as in 1986: 24 qualified teams were divided into six groups of four. The top two teams and four best third place finishers from the six groups advanced to the knockout stage. The 1990 World Cup finals got off to a surprising start. In the first match, Cameroon soaked up pressure from Argentina for most of the first half. After a quarter of an hour's play in the second half, Cameroon's Andre Kana was sent off, and it seemed certain that the world champions would now take control. But six minutes later, the ten men took the lead. François Omam Biyik scored when he placed a perfect downward header past Argentine goalkeeper Nery Pumpido. Argentina pressed hard for an equaliser, and Cameroon were reduced to nine men when Benjamin Massing got the red card in the 89th minute - but the African team still held out for a shock 1-0 win. Then, when Cameroon faced Romania in their second game, Roger Milla took centre stage. His inclusion in Cameroon's squad had been controversial. He had been a favourite in the Cameroon team for years, but he was now 38 years old. He was only in Italy because of political intervention: Paul Biya, Cameroon's President, had insisted that Milla be included in the squad. Against Argentina, Milla only appeared for the last ten minutes. But in the match with Romania, Cameroon coach Valeri Nepomniachi sent him on in the 58th minute, with the score still 0-0. It proved to be an inspired move. Milla scored with 15 minutes left, then added another with five minutes remaining, thus getting two opportunities to demonstrate his trademark hip-shaking goal celebration dance. Gavrila Balint scored for Romania, but it was too little too late. Cameroon held on to win 2-1. Surprisingly, they were beaten 4-0 in their last group game by a Soviet Union side desperately, and unsuccessfully, striving to stay in the tournament on goal difference. Despite the heavy defeat, Cameroon were through to the second round as group winners. Romania came second in Group B, and Argentina just scraped into the second round as one of the best third-placed teams. Another surprise team emerged from Group C. Costa Rica beat Scotland 1-0 in their first match, held Brazil to another 1-0 scoreline in their second, then saw off Sweden 2-1 to claim a place in the second round. Brazil bore little resemblance to the free-flowing, free scoring Brazilian sides of earlier years, but they still took maximum points from the group. They began with a 2-1 win over Sweden, then beat both Costa Rica and Scotland 1-0. Scotland's 2-1 win over Sweden was not enough to save them from an early return home as one of the two lowest-ranked third-placed teams. In the six Group F games, featuring the Netherlands, England, the Republic of Ireland and Egypt, no team managed to score more than once in a match. England beat Egypt 1-0, thanks to a 64th minute goal from Mark Wright - and that was enough to win the group. There were more goals in Group D, but a lot of them were due to the defensive inadequacies of a United Arab Emirates team that lost 2-0 to Colombia, 5-1 to West Germany and 4-1 to Yugoslavia. All three of the UAE's first round opponents reached the last 16, with West Germany topping the group after an impressive 4-1 win over group runners-up Yugoslavia.Italy won Group A with a 100 per cent record achieved via cautious football. They beat Austria and the United States 1-0, and Czechoslovakia 2-0. Salvatore 'Toto' Schillaci, who had played only one international before the World Cup finals, came on as substitute in the 74th minute against Austria and scored Italy's winner four minutes later. Czechoslovakia defeated the USA 5-1 and claimed the runner-up spot in the group, while the USA's first appearance in a World Cup Finals since 1950 ended abruptly after three consecutive defeats. The winners of Group E were Spain, for who Michel hit a hat-trick as they beat South Korea 3-1. Belgium and Uruguay also reached the last 16 from the same group.

Disqualifications

Mexico was disqualified after the Federación Mexicana de Fútbol Asociación fielded an overage player in a prior youth tournament. Chile was disqualified after their goalkeeper Roberto Rojas faked an injury due to a firework thrown from the stands in a match against Brazil, causing the match to be abandoned. Chile was also banned from qualifying in 1994.

1990 FIFA World Cup

The 1990 FIFA World Cup, the 14th staging of the World Cup, was held in Italy from June 8 to July 8. Italy was chosen as hosts by FIFA on May 19, 1984, making it the second country to host the event twice. USSR was the rival of Italy's candidacy to host the event. It was won by West Germany, who beat Argentina 1-0 in the final to win the World Cup for the third time.

Qualification
Three teams qualified for the first time: Costa Rica, the Republic of Ireland and the United Arab Emirates. The United States also made it back to the World Cup after a 40-year absence. The draw for the finals took place on 9 December 1989 in Rome. Tenor Luciano Pavarotti performed at the event.

Summary

The format of the competition was different from 1994, as the finals were expanded from 24 to 32 teams. The 32 teams were divided into eight groups of four. The eight group winners and the eight group runners-up would qualify for the knockout stage. The golden goal rule was also introduced to decide knockout matches which went into extra time. Another change in the rules came into effect at this World Cup, stating that as regulation time was about to expire in any period of play the fourth official would use a handheld electronic display to show how many minutes of stoppage time were to be played. This practice has continued since then, after being well received by media and spectators alike. The tournament opened with 1994 FIFA World Cup champions Brazil's 2-1 victory over Scotland. Norway pulled the shock of Group A, topping the holders 2-1 after two late goals. Still, both teams advanced to the next round. Italy easily won Group B, with Chile's three draws enough for them to get through. The Italy-Chile clash which ended 2-2 saw Italy's Roberto Baggio cast aside the spectre of his miss in the penalty shootout in the final 4 years earlier: this time around his highly controversial spot-kick earned Italy a draw.
France swept Group C, with the lone blemish being the red card expulsion and two-game suspension of Zinedine Zidane in a 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia. Denmark also moved on from the group. Nigeria was the surprise winner of Group D, dubbed the Group of Death, as Spain once again failed to live up to high pre-cup expecations. Nigeria beat them 3-2 in a thrilling game and moved on to the next round together with Paraguay. Netherlands and Mexico moved on from Group E, a group that saw four games end in draws. Mexico came from behind in two of those four games that ended in a draw after being down two goals in both games. Germany and Yugoslavia made easy work of Group F. A late goal for Romania saw them beat England 2-1 and take the top spot in Group G; the English finished second. Argentina swept Group H, joined by Croatia in the second round. In the second round, Italy beat Norway 1-0 and Brazil made easy work of Chile, 4-1. Laurent Blanc of France scored the first Golden Goal in World Cup history as the hosts beat Paraguay 1-0. Denmark surprised Nigeria, crushing them 4-1. Germany beat Mexico and Netherlands topped Yugoslavia by identical 2-1 scores. Croatia upset Romania 1-0. Argentina beat England on penalties after drawing 2-2 in a game that saw a stunning goal from 18-year-old Michael Owen. The game was marred by England's David Beckham being sent off after kicking Diego Simeone. France beat Italy in the quarter-finals on penalties after a scoreless draw. Brazil topped Denmark 3-2 in an exciting game. Croatia pulled perhaps the biggest shocker of the tournament, crushing Germany 3-0. The Netherlands-Argentina match was marred by violence; the Netherlands was reduced to 10 men early on after a tackle by Artur Numan injured Diego Simeone and Simeone had to be carried off the field for treatment. Late in the match, Argentina star Ariel Ortega received a red card for head-butting Dutch goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar after van der Sar confronted Ortega on the latter's play-acting attempt to draw a penalty. Shortly after Ortega's sending off, Dennis Bergkamp of the Netherlands scored a memorable goal from a 60-yard pass to eliminate Argentina, 2-1. In the semi-finals, Patrick Kluivert equalized late for the Netherlands to make it 1-1, but the Brazilians won on penalties. They were joined by France, as defender Lilian Thuram scored two goals from nowhere to offset Golden Boot winner Davor Šuker's opener for Croatia. The Croats beat the Dutch for third place.
For the first time ever, the final featured the host nation and the defending champions. Zinedine Zidane scored two headers from corners in the 26th minute and in first half stoppage time respectively, and Emmanuel Petit added a late goal in second half stoppage time to give France a 3-0 win over Brazil. Brazil's star player Ronaldo played poorly, having a mysterious fit the night before and many questioned his reinstatement in the starting lineup. An estimated one million people took to the Paris streets to celebrate through the night. France became the seventh world champions, joining Uruguay, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England and Argentina.

Ticket sales problem

The original domestic ticket allocation had fully sold out and the organising committee completed sales of ticket returned from the international allocation by the end of April. However, it was obvious at the opening two matches in Japan that there was a significant number of empty seats, and it gradually revealed that the WCTB, World Cup Ticketing Bureau, still had unsold tickets in its possession. After FIFA agreed to sell this inventory, JAWOC undertook sales over telephone and WCTB handled the internet sales. For the second round Japan vs. Turkey match in Miyagi in particular, although it was reported by both parties that all tickets had been sold, some 700 seats remained empty.

1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th staging of the World Cup, was held in France from June 10 to July 12 after 60 years to celebrate the third edition scheduled in 1938. France was chosen as hosts by FIFA on July 1, 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final. France won their first title, the 7th nation to win a World Cup, and the first host nation to win the tournament since Argentina did it in 1978.

Semi-finals, third-place match, and final

The semi-finals saw two 1-0 games; first, Ballack's goal was enough for Germany to top South Korea. However, Ballack received a yellow card during the match, which forced him to miss the final based on accumulated yellow cards. Ronaldo scored his sixth of the competition for Brazil, who beat Turkey 1-0 in a replay of their Group C encounter. In the third-place match, Turkey beat the South Koreans 3-2 in a very spirited match for third place, their first goal coming from Hakan Şükür straight from the opening kickoff (even though South Korea kicked off) in 10.8 seconds, the fastest ever goal in World Cup history. In the final match held in Yokohama, Japan, two goals from Ronaldo secured the World Cup for Brazil as they claimed victory over Germany. Ronaldo scored twice in the second half and, after the game, won the Golden Boot award for the tournament's leading scorer with eight goals. This was the fifth time Brazil had won the World Cup, cementing their status as the most successful national team in the history of the competition. Brazil's captain Cafu, who became the first player to appear in three successive World Cup finals, accepted the trophy on behalf of the team.

Second round and quarter-finals

In the second round, Germany beat Paraguay 1-0 on a late goal by Oliver Neuville in a tense, defense-dominated encounter while England thrashed previously-impressive Denmark 3-0. In the Spain-Ireland match, the two teams drew 1-1 and penalties gave Spain a place in the quarterfinals. Sweden and Senegal had a 1-1 match and it took a Golden goal from Henri Camara in extra time to settle the game. The United States won over Mexico 2-0 behind the goals of Brian McBride and Landon Donovan. Brazil defeated a surprising Belgium 2-0, while Turkey ended co-hosts Japan's run with a 1-0 win. The other co-hosts, South Korea, beat Italy on a golden goal, 2-1. South Korea's win ensured that, for the very first time in the Cup's history, teams from each of Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Asia reached the quarter-finals. In the quarter-finals, Ronaldinho's free kick sailed over the stunned David Seaman as Brazil beat England 2-1. The United States lost to Germany 1-0 by a Michael Ballack goal. They demanded the referee give a penalty for a goal-line hand ball by Torsten Frings, but to no avail. South Korea got another win, beating Spain on penalties after a 0-0 draw, becoming the first Asian team to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, eclipsing the record of their North Korean counterparts when they reached the quarter-finals in 1966. There was much controversy over South Korea's second round and quarter-final victories being the results of match fixing scandals. However complaints were dismissed and the victories stood. Turkey continued their remarkable run, stopping Senegal's own with a 1-0 golden goal victory.

First round

The World Cup started with a shock 1-0 defeat of defending champions France, playing without the injured Zinedine Zidane, by tournament newcomers Senegal in the tournament's opening match held in Seoul, Korea. In their second Group A game, France were held to a goalless draw by Uruguay after star striker Thierry Henry was sent off. A 2-0 defeat by Denmark in their last group game sealed France's fate. The world champions went out of the Cup without even managing to score a goal and earned the unwanted record of the worst World Cup performance by a defending champion. An impressive Denmark won the group, joined by Senegal to move on to the next round. Senegal drew with Denmark and Uruguay to clinch its place in the second round. Despite coming back from 0-3 to tie Senegal in their last group game, the South Americans couldn't find the fourth goal that might have kept them in the Cup and thus were out of the tournament. Spain became one of only two teams to pick up maximum points in the Group B, seeing off both Paraguay and Slovenia 3-1 before beating South Africa 3-2. Paraguay needed a late goal against another newcomer, Slovenia, to tie South Africa on goal difference (they were already tied on points) and move to the second round on the next tiebreaker, goals scored.
The other team to win all their group games was Brazil in Group C. Turkey advanced to the next round, too, beating Costa Rica on goal difference. China, coached by Bora Milutinović (the fifth national team he coached in five consecutive World Cups), failed to get a point or even score a goal. Group D saw several surprises as the United States beat Portugal, who many had tipped to win the tournament, 3-2. Then, goalkeeping by Brad Friedel earned the Americans a 1-1 draw with South Korea. South Korea, already assured of advancing after topping Poland 2-0, beat Portugal to send the Europeans home and also give the United States a ticket into the second round, despite losing to Poland in the 3rd match. Germany thrashed Saudi Arabia 8-0 in Group E thanks to three goals from Miroslav Klose. Ireland were playing without ex-captain Roy Keane, sent home days before the World Cup, but led by his unrelated namesake Robbie claimed second place at the expense of African champions Cameroon. Other than France's failures, the biggest shock of the tournament came in the Group of Death, Group F as pre-tournament favorites Argentina failed to move out of the group. A loss to England 1-0 on a David Beckham penalty and a subsequent draw with Sweden kept the South Americans from advancing. The Scandinavians won the group, with England also going through. Nigeria finished last. In Group G, Italy, Croatia, and Ecuador all beat each other once. But the Italians' draw against group winners Mexico, while the other two lost to the North Americans, gave the three-time World Cup champions second place in the group. Ecuador could still enjoy a victory on their first World Cup, beating Croatia 1-0. Co-hosts Japan breezed through Group H, joined by Belgium. Russia and Tunisia were two of the disappointments of the tournament, in what was considered the weakest group of the tournament.

2002 FIFA World Cup

The 2002 FIFA World Cup, the 17th staging of the World Cup, was held in South Korea and Japan from May 31 to June 30. The two countries were chosen as hosts by FIFA in May 1996 and was the first tournament in it's history to be hosted by two countries. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0 in the final.

Qualification

process began with the preliminary draw in 1999. Defending World Champions France and co-hosts Republic of Korea (South Korea) and Japan automatically qualified and did not have to play any qualification matches. (This was the last time that the defending champions automatically qualified).
Thirteen places were contested by UEFA teams (Europe), five by CAF teams (Africa), four by CONMEBOL teams (South America), four by AFC teams (Asia), and three by CONCACAF teams (North and Central America and Caribbean). The remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and UEFA and between CONMEBOL and OFC (Oceania). Four nations qualified for the finals for the first time: China, Ecuador, Senegal, and Slovenia.All seven previous World Cup-winning nations (Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy and Uruguay) qualified, the first time so many previous champions had been present at a finals tournament.

Venues

Germany in 2006 had a plethora of football stadia which satisfied FIFA's minimum capacity of 40,000 for World Cup matches. The still-standing Olympiastadion in Munich (69,250) was not used even though FIFA's regulations allow one city to use two stadia; Düsseldorf's LTU Arena (51,500), Bremen's Weserstadion (43,000) and Mönchengladbach's Borussia-Park (46,249) were also unemployed during the tournament. Twelve stadia were selected to host the World Cup matches. During the tournament, many of the stadia were known by different names, as FIFA prohibits sponsorship of stadia unless the stadium sponsors were also official FIFA sponsors.[10] For example, the Allianz Arena in Munich was known during the competition as FIFA World Cup Stadium, Munich (or in German: FIFA WM-Stadion München), and even the letters of the company Allianz were removed or covered. These new names are reflected in the table in the brackets. Some of the stadia also had a lower capacity for the World Cup, as FIFA regulations ban standing room; nonetheless, this was accommodated as several stadiums had an UEFA 5-star ranking.

Qualification

198 teams attempted to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. Germany, the host nation, was granted automatic qualification, with the remaining 31 finals places divided among the continental confederations. This was the first World Cup for which the title holders were not granted automatic qualification. Thirteen places were contested by UEFA teams (Europe), five by CAF teams (Africa), four by CONMEBOL teams (South America), four by AFC teams (Asia), and three by CONCACAF teams (North and Central America and Caribbean). The remaining two places were decided by playoffs between AFC and CONCACAF and between CONMEBOL and OFC (Oceania). Eight nations qualified for the finals for the first time: Angola, Côte d'Ivoire, Czech Republic, Ghana, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine and Serbia & Montenegro. Czech Republic and Ukraine were making their first appearance as independent nations, but had previously been represented as part of Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union respectively; Serbia & Montenegro had competed as Yugoslavia in 1998, as well as making up part of Yugoslav teams from 1930 to 1990. For the first time since the 1982 World Cup, all six confederations were represented at the finals tournament.

Host selection

The vote to choose the hosts of the 2006 tournament was held in July 2000 in Zürich, Switzerland. It involved four bidding nations after Brazil had withdrawn three days earlier: Germany, South Africa, England and Morocco. Three rounds of voting were required, each round eliminating the nation with the least votes. The first two rounds were held on 6 July, and the final round was held on 7 July. Morocco was the first to be eliminated when it got only three votes out of a possible 24; England was eliminated in the second round with only two votes. Finally, Germany won the final round of voting 12–11 over South Africa, but the success of Germany's bid was marred by a hoax bribery affair which even led to calls for a re-vote. On the night before the vote, German satirical magazine Titanic sent letters to FIFA representatives, offering gifts in exchange for their vote for Germany. Oceania delegate Charles Dempsey, who had been instructed to support South Africa, abstained, citing "intolerable pressure" on the eve of the vote. Had Dempsey voted as originally instructed, the vote would have resulted with a 12–12 tie, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who favoured the South African bid, would have had to cast the deciding vote.

2006 FIFA World Cup

The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th instance of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation, Germany, for the finals tournament. 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 1–1 draw. Germany defeated Portugal 3–1 to finish third. The 2006 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in television history, garnering an estimated 26.29 billion non-unique viewers, compiled 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 1994, the 2002, and the 1990 FIFA World Cups. As the winner, Italy will represent the World in the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Media coverage

The World Cup was first televised in 1954 and is now the most widely-viewed and followed sporting event in the world, exceeding even the Olympic Games. The cumulative audience of the 2006 World Cup — including all of the matches — is estimated to be 26.29 billion. 715.1 million individuals watched the final match of this tournament (a ninth of the entire population of the planet). The 2006 World Cup draw, which decided the distribution of teams into groups, was watched by 300 million viewers. Each FIFA World Cup since 1966 has its own mascot. World Cup Willie, the mascot for the 1966 competition, was the first World Cup mascot. Mascots for the 2006 World Cup were Goleo, a lion, and Pille, a football

Selection of hosts

Early World Cups were given to countries at meetings of FIFA's congress. The choice of location gave rise to controversies, a consequence of the three-week boat journey between South America and Europe, the two centres of strength in football. The decision to hold the first World Cup in Uruguay, for example, led to only four European nations competing. The next two World Cups were both held in Europe. The decision to hold the second of these, the 1938 FIFA World Cup, in France was controversial, as the American countries had been led to understand that the World Cup would rotate between the two continents. Both Argentina and Uruguay thus boycotted the tournament.Since the 1958 FIFA World Cup, to avoid future boycotts or controversy, FIFA began a pattern of alternating the hosts between the Americas and Europe, which continued until the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The 2002 FIFA World Cup, hosted jointly by South Korea and Japan, was the first one held in Asia, and the only tournament with multiple hosts. In 2010, South Africa will become the first African nation to host the World Cup. The 2014 FIFA World Cup will be hosted by Brazil, the first held in South America since 1978, and will be the first occasion where consecutive World Cups are held outside Europe.The host country is now chosen in a vote by FIFA's Executive Committee. This is done under a single transferable vote system. The national football association of a country desiring to host the event receives a "Hosting Agreement" from FIFA, which explains the steps and requirements that are expected from a strong bid. The bidding association also receives a form, the submission of which represents the official confirmation of the candidacy. After this, a FIFA designated group of inspectors visit the country to identify that the country meets the requirements needed to host the event and a report on the country is produced. The decision on who will host the Cup is currently made six or seven years in advance of the tournament.For the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, the final tournament is rotated between confederations, allowing only countries from the chosen confederation (Africa in 2010, South America in 2014) to bid to host the tournament. The rotation policy was introduced after the controversy surrounding Germany's victory over South Africa in the vote to host the 2006 tournament. However, the policy of continental rotation will not continue beyond 2014, so any country, except those belonging to confederations that hosted the two preceding tournaments, can apply as hosts for World Cups starting from 2018. This is partly to avoid a similar scenario to the bidding process for the 2014 tournament, where Brazil was the only official bidder.

Final tournament

The current finals tournament features 32 national teams competing over a month in the host nation(s). There are two stages: a group stage followed by a knockout stage.In the group stage, teams compete within eight groups of four teams each. Eight teams are seeded (including the hosts, with the other teams selected using a formula based on both the FIFA World Rankings and performances in recent World Cups) and drawn to separate groups. The other teams are assigned to different "pots", usually based on geographical criteria, and teams in each pot are drawn at random to the eight groups. Since 1998, constraints have been applied to the draw to ensure that no group contains more than two European teams or more than one team from any other confederation.Each group plays a round-robin tournament, guaranteeing that every team will play at least three matches. The last round of matches of each group is scheduled at the same time to preserve fairness among all four teams. The top two teams from each group advance to the knockout stage. Points are used to rank the teams within a group. Since 1994, three points have been awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss (prior to this, winners received two points rather than three). If two or more teams end up with the same number of points, tiebreakers are used: first is goal difference, then total goals scored, then head-to-head results, and finally drawing of lots (i.e. determining team positions at random).The knockout stage is a single-elimination tournament in which teams play each other in one-off matches, with extra time and penalty shootouts used to decide the winner if necessary. It begins with the "round of 16" (or the second round) in which the winner of each group plays against the runner-up of another group. This is followed by the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the third-place match (contested by the losing semi-finalists), and the final.

Format

Since the second World Cup in 1934, qualifying tournaments have been held to thin the field for the final tournament. They are held within the six FIFA continental zones (Africa, Asia, North and Central America and Caribbean, South America, Oceania, Europe), overseen by their respective confederations. For each tournament, FIFA decides the number of places awarded to each of the continental zones beforehand, generally based on the relative strength of the confederations' teams, but also subject to lobbying from the confederations.The qualification process can start as early as almost three years before the final tournament and last over a two-year period. The formats of the qualification tournaments differ between confederations. Usually, one or two places are awarded to winners of intercontinental play-offs. For example, the winner of the Oceanian zone and the fifth-placed team from the Asian zone will enter a play-off for a spot in the 2010 World Cup.From the 1938 World Cup onwards, host nations have received an automatic berth in the finals. This right was also granted to the defending champions between 1938 and 2002, but was withdrawn from the 2006 FIFA World Cup onward, requiring the champions to qualify. Brazil, winners in 2002, thus became the first defending champions to play in a qualifying match.

Trophy

From 1930 to 1970, the Jules Rimet Trophy was awarded to the World Cup winner. It was originally simply known as the World Cup or Coupe du Monde, but in 1946 it was renamed after the FIFA president Jules Rimet who set up the first tournament. In 1970, Brazil's third victory in the tournament entitled them to keep the trophy permanently. However, the trophy was stolen in 1983, and has never been recovered, apparently melted down by the thieves.After 1970, a new trophy, known as the FIFA World Cup Trophy, was designed. The experts of FIFA, coming from seven different countries, evaluated the 53 presented models, finally opting for the work of the Italian designer Silvio Gazzaniga. The new trophy is 36 cm (14.2 in) high, made of solid 18 carat (75%) gold and weighs 6.175 kg (13.6 lb). The base contains two layers of semi-precious malachite while the bottom side of the trophy bears the engraved year and name of each FIFA World Cup winner since 1974. The description of the trophy by Gazzaniga was: "The lines spring out from the base, rising in spirals, stretching out to receive the world. From the remarkable dynamic tensions of the compact body of the sculpture rise the figures of two athletes at the stirring moment of victory."This new trophy is not awarded to the winning nation permanently. World Cup winners retain the trophy until the next tournament and are awarded a gold-plated replica rather than the solid gold original.

Other FIFA tournaments

An equivalent tournament for women's football, the FIFA Women's World Cup, was first held in 1991 in the People's Republic of China. The women's tournament is smaller in scale and profile than the men's, but is growing; the number of entrants for the 2007 tournament was 120, more than double that of 1991.Football has been included in every Summer Olympic Games except 1896 and 1932. Unlike many other sports, the men's football tournament at the Olympics is not a top-level tournament, and since 1992, an under-23 tournament with each team allowed three overage players. Women's football made its Olympic debut in 1996, and is contested between full national sides with no age restrictions. The FIFA Confederations Cup is a tournament held one year before the World Cup Finals at the World Cup host nation(s) as a dress-rehearsal for the upcoming World Cup. It is contested by the winners of each of the six FIFA confederation championships, along with the FIFA World Cup champion and the host country.FIFA also organizes international tournaments for youth football (FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA U-17 World Cup, FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup, FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup), club football (FIFA Club World Cup), and football variants such as futsal (FIFA Futsal World Cup) and beach soccer (FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup).