Italy was crowned world cup 2006 winners, Germany hosted the tournament superbly and played some great football on their way to the semi final. But was the standard of football great? I am not sure, the Italians were very strong in defence but are not a brilliant team as highlighted when they struggled to beat nine man USA and were fortunate to beat Australia with a last gasp penalty. If we look at some of the 2006 world cup teams we can see many failed to deliver. ITALY- Winners Outstanding defence and in Buffon the best goalkeeper in the world as he highlighted with his great save from Zidane in extra time. More attacking formation than normal but no real strikeforce success with Toni failing to emulate his Serie A strike rate. As with most good teams they managed to grind out some results and were very hard to beat. Many of their top players are now reaching their peak, interesting to see how they perform in Euro 2006. FRANCE- Runners up The veterans of France surprised many by reaching the final. Inspired by Zidane the French eliminated holders Brazil and also defeated Portugal in the semi final. The French were unlucky in the final as for long periods they dominated the game, however the crazy sending off involving Zidane cost them dearly as with Zidane, Vierra and Henry all unavailable for the penalty shoot out, the French had to settle for runners up. GERMANY- 3rd Place The Germans went into the world cup as underdogs despite being the home nation due to a run of terrible results. The manager, Klinsmann was under intense pressure but the Germans performed superbly and only were denied a final spot when the Italians scored two late goals in extra time in the semi final. The Germans provided the young player of the tournament and in Klosse they also grabbed the top goalscorer award. PORTUGAL- 4th Place Portugal have emerged as serious contenders in recent tournaments under the guidance of big Phil Scolari. Impressive wins over Holland and England were not matched when they performed poorly and were eliminated by France in the semi final. Players such as Figo, Pauletta and Deco may have played their last world cup but they still have some young players such as Ronaldo emerging. BRAZIL- Quarter final The holders played some great football in the early stages despite Ronaldo not looking anywhere near fit. Ronaldinho showed some nice tricks but was quiet in many matches due to tight marking. A very lacklusture showing against France sent the Brazilains home and for players such as Carlos, Ronaldo, emerson, Junior and Cafu it is probably the end of their world cup dreams. ENGLAND- Quarter final With so many quality players there is no doubt England under performed. They were terrible in the group stages struggling against big guns such as Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago! Their manager failed to bring enough strikers and with Rooney clearly not fit and Owen out injured there was no real strength in depth to the squad. The long ball tactic was used too often and England yet again were beat on penalties at the quarter final stage. ARGENTINA- Quarter final The South Americans played some superb stuff in the early stages and had many outstanding players . However they were eliminated by the host nation on penalties as their early form failed to reappear in the latter stages of the tournament. A narrow win against Mexico suggested they were not unbeatable and the Germans more than matched them in a dull quarter final. With young players emerging such as Messi there is no doubt that Argentina will be back challenging the next world cup. |
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