The World Cup Soccer is an event that takes place every 4 years. Most in the world would consider themselves lucky to have their "country" team win the World Cup once in their lifetime. It is a huge deal for a country to win the world cup. For people used to the NFL "Super Bowl", the world cup for most people in the world is like the "Super Bowl of Super Bowls".
The event is in Germany this year, but it's close enough to France that you will most likely notice it everywhere. The official dates are from June 9th to July 9th, however, people will begin celebrating a few weeks before that. If France wins (not likely) the French will continue the celebration for months or even years! If you are not really a soccer fan remember that it can be a very pleasant and interesting cultural experience to be with the locals when their team is playing or even better if their team is winning. France plays in Group G. Check the schedule and head for the local cafe (one with a TV!) and just sit there and have a drink. Larger cities will most likely have special events set-up, like giant screens on public squares.
The 32 teams that qualified for the world cup are each in a group. Each team
plays the other teams in its group. A team receives 3 points for a win, 1 point
for a draw and 0 points for a loss. The 2 teams with the most points in each
group advance to
stage 2.
Times are local. For EST subtract 6 and for UK time remove 1 hour.
Group A
Current FIFA ranking of these teams: Germany 19 Costa Rica 26 Poland 28 Ecuador 39| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 09-Jun-06 | Munich |
 |
GER:CRC |
 |
18:00 |
| 2 | 09-Jun-06 | Gelsenkirchen |
 |
POL:ECU |
 |
21:00 |
| 17 | 14-Jun-06 | Dortmund |
|
GER:POL |
|
21:00 |
| 18 | 15-Jun-06 | Hamburg |
|
ECU:CRC |
|
15:00 |
| 33 | 20-Jun-06 | Berlin |
|
ECU:GER |
|
16:00 |
| 34 | 20-Jun-06 | Hanover |
|
CRC:POL |
|
16:00 |
Group B
Current FIFA ranking of these teams:
England 10
Paraguay 33
Trinidad and Tobago 47
Sweden 16
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 10-Jun-06 | Frankfurt |
 |
ENG:PAR |
 |
15:00 |
| 4 | 10-Jun-06 | Dortmund |
 |
TRI:SWE |
 |
18:00 |
| 19 | 15-Jun-06 | Nuremberg |
|
ENG:TRI |
|
18:00 |
| 20 | 15-Jun-06 | Berlin |
|
SWE:PAR |
|
21:00 |
| 35 | 20-Jun-06 | Cologne |
|
SWE:ENG |
|
21:00 |
| 36 | 20-Jun-06 | Kaiserslautern |
|
PAR:TRI |
|
21:00 |
Group C
Current FIFA ranking of these teams:
Argentina 8
Côte
d'Ivoire 32
Serbia and Montenegro 46
Netherlands 3
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 10-Jun-06 | Hamburg |
 |
ARG:CIV |
 |
21:00 |
| 6 | 11-Jun-06 | Leipzig |
 |
SCG:NED |
 |
15:00 |
| 21 | 16-Jun-06 | Gelsenkirchen |
|
ARG:SCG |
|
15:00 |
| 22 | 16-Jun-06 | Stuttgart |
|
NED:CIV |
|
18:00 |
| 37 | 21-Jun-06 | Frankfurt |
|
NED:ARG |
|
21:00 |
| 38 | 21-Jun-06 | Munich |
|
CIV:SCG |
|
21:00 |
Group D
Current FIFA ranking of these teams:
Mexico 6
Iran
22
Angola 58
Portugal 8
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 11-Jun-06 | Nuremberg |
 |
MEX:IRN |
 |
18:00 |
| 8 | 11-Jun-06 | Cologne |
 |
ANG:POR |
 |
21:00 |
| 23 | 16-Jun-06 | Hanover |
|
MEX:ANG |
|
21:00 |
| 24 | 17-Jun-06 | Frankfurt |
|
POR:IRN |
|
15:00 |
| 39 | 21-Jun-06 | Gelsenkirchen |
|
POR:MEX |
|
16:00 |
| 40 | 21-Jun-06 | Leipzig |
|
IRN:ANG |
|
16:00 |
Group E
Current FIFA ranking of these teams:
Italy 14
Ghana 52
USA
4
Czech Republic 2
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 12-Jun-06 | Hanover |
 |
ITA:GHA |
 |
21:00 |
| 10 | 12-Jun-06 | Gelsenkirchen |
 |
USA:CZE |
 |
18:00 |
| 25 | 17-Jun-06 | Kaiserslautern |
|
ITA:USA |
|
21:00 |
| 26 | 17-Jun-06 | Cologne |
|
CZE:GHA |
|
18:00 |
| 41 | 22-Jun-06 | Hamburg |
|
CZE:ITA |
|
16:00 |
| 42 | 22-Jun-06 | Nuremberg |
|
GHA:USA |
|
16:00 |
Group F
Current FIFA ranking of these teams:
Brazil 1
Croatia 24
Australia 44
Japan 17
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 13-Jun-06 | Berlin |
 |
BRA:CRO |
 |
21:00 |
| 12 | 12-Jun-06 | Kaiserslautern |
 |
AUS:JPN |
 |
15:00 |
| 27 | 18-Jun-06 | Munich |
|
BRA:AUS |
|
18:00 |
| 28 | 18-Jun-06 | Nuremberg |
|
JPN:CRO |
|
15:00 |
| 43 | 22-Jun-06 | Dortmund |
|
JPN:BRA |
|
21:00 |
| 44 | 22-Jun-06 | Stuttgart |
|
CRO:AUS |
|
21:00 |
Group G
Current FIFA ranking of these teams:
France 7
Switzerland 35
Korea Republic 30
Togo
59
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 13-Jun-06 | Stuttgart |
 |
FRA:SUI |
 |
18:00 |
| 14 | 13-Jun-06 | Frankfurt |
 |
KOR:TOG |
 |
15:00 |
| 29 | 18-Jun-06 | Leipzig |
|
FRA:KOR |
|
21:00 |
| 30 | 19-Jun-06 | Dortmund |
|
TOG:SUI |
|
15:00 |
| 45 | 23-Jun-06 | Cologne |
|
TOG:FRA |
|
21:00 |
| 46 | 23-Jun-06 | Hanover |
|
SUI:KOR |
|
21:00 |
Group H
Current FIFA ranking of these teams:
Spain 5
Ukraine 41
Tunisia 21
Saudi Arabia 34
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 14-Jun-06 | Leipzig |
 |
ESP:UKR |
 |
15:00 |
| 16 | 14-Jun-06 | Munich |
 |
TUN:KSA |
 |
18:00 |
| 31 | 19-Jun-06 | Stuttgart |
|
ESP:TUN |
|
21:00 |
| 32 | 19-Jun-06 | Hamburg |
|
KSA:UKR |
|
18:00 |
| 47 | 23-Jun-06 | Kaiserslautern |
|
KSA:ESP |
|
16:00 |
| 48 | 23-Jun-06 | Berlin |
|
UKR:TUN |
|
16:00 |
Stage 2:
Games during stage 2 are sudden dead. The winner goes to the next round. For the loser no world cup this time...Note: 1A means the teams with the most points from Group A. 2F means the second team with the most points from Group F
Round of 16
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | 24-Jun-06 | Munich | 1A:2B | 17:00 | ||
| 50 | 24-Jun-06 | Leipzig | 1C:2D | 21:00 | ||
| 51 | 25-Jun-06 | Stuttgart | 1B:2A | 17:00 | ||
| 52 | 25-Jun-06 | Nuremberg | 1D:2C | 21:00 | ||
| 53 | 26-Jun-06 | Kaiserslautern | 1E:2F | 17:00 | ||
| 54 | 26-Jun-06 | Cologne | 1G:2H | 21:00 | ||
| 55 | 27-Jun-06 | Dortmund | 1F:2E | 17:00 | ||
| 56 | 27-Jun-06 | Hanover | 1H:2G | 21:00 |
Quarter-finals
Note: W49 is the winner of game 49.
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | 30-Jun-06 | Berlin | W49:W50 | 17:00 | ||
| 58 | 30-Jun-06 | Hamburg | W53:W54 | 21:00 | ||
| 59 | 01-Jul-06 | Gelsenkirchen | W51:W52 | 17:00 | ||
| 60 | 01-Jul-06 | Frankfurt | W55:W56 | 21:00 |
Semi-finals
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | 04-Jul-06 | Dortmund | W57:W58 | 21:00 | ||
| 62 | 05-Jul-06 | Munich | W59:W60 | 21:00 |
Third Place
Note: L61 is the loser of game 61.
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | 08-Jul-06 | Stuttgart | L61:L62 | 21:00 |
Final !!!
| Match | Date | Venue | Teams | Time/Score | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | 09-Jul-06 | Berlin | W61:W62 | 20:00 |
Official World Cup 2006 web site
