July 9, 2006 : Final : France 1 v 1 Italy (3-5) penalties

France

vs.

Italy

Italy equalized a 7th minute penalty by France with a superb header off a corner kick 12 minutes later. The match remained 1-1 until penalties where Italy prevailed 5-4 to win the World Cup for the fourth time. DVR rating 3 diamonds.< Read More >
		Fabio Cannavaro #5 Italy
			23
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

France  1  Henry      18    Zidane      15    Malouda      15    Sagnol      12  Ribery      10  Thuram      9  Gallas      8  Vieira      8    Makelele      4  Abidal      3  Barthez      1	1  Italy   23      Cannavaro   18      Materazzi   10      Buffon   9      Toni   7      Grosso   7      Zambrotta    6      Gattuso   5      Totti   4      Pirlo   2      Perrotta   1      Camoranesi
FRA Totals      106	98    ITA Totals

July 8, 2006 : Germany 3 - 1 Portugal Third Place Game

Germany

vs.

Portugal

After a listless first half for both teams, German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger had an offensive explosion to put the host nation over Portugal 3-1 in the tournament's consolation game. Schweinsteiger was the Power P Read More >
		Bastian Schweinsteiger #7 Germany
			17
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Germany  2    Schweinsteiger      17  Kehl      15  Kahn      14  Nowotny      12  Metzelder      10  Klose      9  Lahm      9  Jansen      8    Frings      8  Podolski      7  Schneider      4	1  Portugal   16      Deco   15      Meira   14      Sabrosa   12      Ronaldo   8      Ricardo   7      Costa    7      Pauleta   3      Ferreira    2      Costinha    2      Maniche   -4      Valemte
GER Totals      119	99    POR Totals

July 5, 2006 : Portugal 0 - 1 France Semi Final

Portugal

vs.

France

Zinadine Zidane scored on a penalty in the 33 minute and Frances suffocating defense made it stand up against an dreary Portugal team for a 1-0 victory. France will now play Italy for the World Cup. DVR rating 2 diamonds. Read More >
		Lilian Thuram #15 France
			19
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Portugal  0  Valemte      17  Ronaldo      14  Figo      12  Meira      10  Ricardo      8    Carvalho      5  Maniche      5  Costinha      4  Miguel      3  Pauleta      3  Deco      3	1  France   19      Thuram   14      Barthez   10      Zidane   9      Henry   8      Vieira   5      Abidal   4      Ribery   4      Malouda   4      Sagnol   2      Gallas   -3      Makelele
POR Totals      89	78    FRA Totals

France v Portugal Semi Final Preview

July 5, 2006

World Cup 2006 is becoming a reunion tour for France who will play upstart Portugal in today's Semi Final.

Zidane and Viera led France to the 1998 World Cup title by tip-toeing into the Championship game before destroying a heavily favored Brazil 3-0. Shound familiar?

And France must like their chances again in 2006 since they have never lost to Portugal in a major tournament.

On the other hand Portugal's coach, Big Phil Scolari is riding a 12 game unbeaten streak in World Cup play.

The unstoppable force meets the unmovable object.

It should be fun.

Keys to the Match

(1) France needs to get great games out of aging stars Zidane and Viera. France struggled when these two superstas didn't perform in the Group Matches.

(2) Costinha is returning from suspension and must keep Henry quiet. Henry can win a match in a blink.

(3) Both teams have midfielders, Ribery for France4 and Cristiano Ronaldo for Portugal, that wander the pitch breaking down stody defenses. The match will turn on how well these players are defended.

(4) France's defensive back four nedd to protect their erratic goalkeeper Barthez as well as they did against Brazil.

By the Numbers

Attacking - Slight advantage to Porutgul.
Portugal 72 attacking points to 68 for France.

Defending - Slight advantage to Portugal.
Portugal 33 defending points to 30 for France.

Miscues - Advantage to Portugal.
France gives the ball away 3 more times per game and is offside 3 more time per game.

Goalkeeping - Big advantage to Portugal.
Ricardo averages 12 Power Points per game to 6 for Barthez.

Penalty kicks - Advantage to Portugal.
Ricardo is a better goalkeeper and stopped 3 England penalty kicks.

Coaching - Advantage to Portugal.
Big Phil tok Brazil to the 2002 world Cup title and has not lost in 12 games.

Previous results - Advantage to France.
France have not lost to Portugal in 31 years and never in a major tournament.

Home field - Even.

Final Score - France 1 - 1 Portugal aet. Portugal wins 5-3 in penalties.

       

July 4, 2006 : Germany 0 - 2 Italy Semi Final

Germany

vs.

Italy

Italy scored two goals at the death of overtime to defeat a tired Germany side hoping for penalties. The 2-0 line score reflected the run of play and Italy will now play in the Championship game. DVR rating 2 diamonds. Read More >
		Fabio Grosso #3 Italy
			24
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Germany  0  Podolski      14  Ballack      12  Lahm      12  Mertesacker      9    Metzelder      8  Friedrich      8  Kehl      7    Borowski      7  Lehmann      5  Klose      5  Schneider      4	2  Italy   24      Grosso   21      Pirlo   20      Materazzi   18      Cannavaro   12      Gattuso   11      Zambrotta   8      Perrotta   6      Buffon   5      Totti   4      Camoranesi    0      Toni
GER Totals      104	155    ITA Totals

Germany v Italy Semi Final Power Stats Preview

July 4, 2006

Gemany hosts Italy today in a dream match up in a 2006 World Cup Semi Final.

Keys to the Match

(1) Itlay's Gattuso has to be able ot mark Ballack out of the game. Ballack creates significant problems for defenses and if too much attention i s given to defending Ballcck, it opens space for Klose and Poldolski.

(2) Gemany needs to seocre early. Italy would have to be favored the longer the game remains scorless.

(3) Phillip Lahm attacking runs down the wing. This will sstretch Italy's defense which is very strong through the middle of the field.

(4) Totti needs a big game. He is the one offensive player that can open up the German defense. Undortunately he has run hot and cold during the tournament.

By the Numbers

Attacking - Advantage to Germany. 90 attacking points to 75 for Italy.

Defending - Slight advatage to Italy. 40 defending points to 36 for Germany.

Miscues - Advantage to Italy. Germany fouls 4 more times per game and gives the ball away 3 more times per game.

Goalkeeping - Even. Two world-class goalkeepers.

Penalty kicks - Advantage to Germany, never lost in World Cup, Italy never won in World Cup.

Coaching - Advantage to Italy. Lippi is more experienced and battle tested than Klinnsman.

Home field - Big advantage to Germany

Final Score - Germany 1 -0 Italy in regulation.

July 1, 2006 : England 0 - 0 Portugal

England

vs.

Portugal

A ten-man England took Portugal into penalties with a 0-0 draw only to lose 1-3. DVR rating 2 diamonds. Full game summary report to follow. Read More >
		Cristiano Ronaldo #17 Portugal
			28
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

England  0  Robinson      16  Lampard      16  Gerrard      16    Terry      13    Hargreaves      12  Cole      11  Ferdinand      10    Cole      9    Rooney      5  Neville      1  Beckham      1	0  Portugal   28      Ronaldo   19      Valemte   15      Meira   15      Miguel   13      Petit    13      Figo   13      Maniche   12      Ricardo   12      Tiago   11      Carvalho    2      Pauleta
ENG Totals      130	174    POR Totals

July 1, 2006 : Brazil 0 - 1 France

Brazil

vs.

France

France upset Brazil 1-0 in an exciting Quarter Final match on a second-half goal. DVR rating 4 diamonds. Full game summary to follow. Read More >
		Willy Sagnol #19 France
			16
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Brazil  0    Lucio      13    Ronaldo      12  Roberto Carlos      10  Dida      9    Juan      8  Juninho Pernambucano      6  Ronaldinho      6  Kaka      5  Ze Roberto      4    Cafu      3  Gilberto Silva      -1	1  France   16      Sagnol    15      Gallas   14      Malouda   13      Vieira   12      Thuram    10      Ribery   10      Zidane   9      Barthez   5      Henry   4      Abidal   4      Makelele
BRA Totals      88	114    FRA Totals

June 30, 2006 : Italy 3 - 0 Ukraine

Italy

vs.

Ukraine

Italy swamped Ukraine 3-0 behind two goals from Luca Toni. They will meet Germany in the Semi Finals. DVR rating 1 diamond. Full game report summary to follow. Read More >
		Luca Toni #9 Italy
			28
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Italy  3  Toni      28  Zambrotta      20  Totti      18  Cannavaro      14  Barzagli      10  Gattuso      9  Camoranesi      8  Buffon      8  Grosso      4  Perrotta      3  Pirlo      2	0  Ukraine   16      Gusin   12      Shelayev   9      Tymoschuk   7      Gusev   6      Kalinichenko    5      Shevchenko   5      Nesmachniy   4      Rusol   3      Shovkovskiy   -2      Milevskiy    -3      Sviderskiy
ITA Totals      127	67    UKR Totals

June 30, 2006 : Germany 1 - 1 Argentina

Germany

vs.

Argentina

Germany waited until ten minutes from time before equalizing against Argentina 1-1 in a classic match. Germany then prevailed in penalties 4-2 when neither team scored in overtime and will now advance to the Semi Finals. DVR r Read More >
		Roberto Ayala #2 Argentina
			21
	Game Honors Full Report >

  Full Player Report

Germany  1  Ballack      19  Lahm      18    Friedrich      11  Klose      11  Metzelder      11  Mertesacker      10  Frings      8    Podolski      6  Lehmann      6  Schweinsteiger      5  Schneider      2	1  Argentina   21      Ayala   16      Tevez   13      Rodriguez    12      Sorin    12      Gonzalez   10      Mascherano    9      Coloccini   6      Riquelme   3      Abbondanzieri   1      Heinze   -1      Crespo
GER Totals      119	112    ARG Totals