the 2006 World Cup Finals ended in a dramatic penalty shoot out between Italy and France which resulted in Italy being crowned the champions for the fourth time. For many though, perhaps the most memorable image from that game was the sight of French legend Zinedine Zidane leaving the pitch for the last time in his professional career, distraught after receiving a red card for head butting Italian Marco Materazzi.
Germany 2006 Stats:
* Winner: Italy
* Runners-Up: France
* Third: Germany
* Fourth: Portugal
* Adidas Golden Ball: Zinedine Zidane (France)
* Adidas Golden Shoe: Miroslav Klose (Germany) with 5 goals
* Yashin Award for the Best Goalkeeper: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
* Best Young Player Award: Lukas Podolski (Germany)
* FIFA Fair Play award: Spain and Brazil
* FIFA Award for the Most Entertaining Team: Portugal
World Cup Korea/Japan 2002 Facts and Statistics
wc_2002Brazil lifted the World Cup Trophy for the fifth time thanks mainly to the brilliance of Ronaldo. This was first time that the World Cup had been played in Asia and both home teams surprised soccer pundits by making it to the knockout rounds, with Korea Republic making it all the way to the final four.
Korea/Japan 2002 Stats:
* Winner: Brazil
* Runners-Up: Germany
* Third: Turkey
* Fourth: Korea Republic
* Adidas Golden Ball: Oliver Kahn (Germany)
* Adidas Golden Shoe: Ronaldo (Brazil) with 8 goals
* Yashin Award for the Best Goalkeeper: Oliver Kahn (Germany)
* FIFA Fair Play award: Belgium
* FIFA Award for the Most Entertaining Team: Korea Republic
World Cup France 1998 Facts and Statistics
world-cup-1998
The host country was victorious in France in 1998, with the Gauls claiming their very first World Cup crown led by the extraordinary Zinedine Zidane. The big surprise was the highly underrated team from Croatia who played their way to a third place finish over the Netherlands.
France 1998 Stats:
* Winner: France
* Runners-Up: Brazil
* Third: Croatia
* Fourth: Netherlands
* Adidas Golden Ball: Ronaldo (Brazil)
* Adidas Golden Shoe: Davor Suker (Croatia) with 6 goals
* Yashin Award for the Best Goalkeeper: Fabien Barthez (France)
* FIFA Fair Play award: Tie – England and France
* FIFA Award for the Most Entertaining Team: France\
World Cup United States 1994 Facts and Statistics
wc_1994The 1994 World Cup, hosted by the United States, was the best attended tournament in World Cup history, and ended with Brazil picking up their first World Cup championship since the heady days of 1970. The surprise team of 1994 turned out to be the Bulgarian national team that came from nowhere to claim fourth place.
* Winner: Brazil
* Runners-Up: Italy
* Third: Sweden
* Fourth: Bulgaria
* Adidas Golden Ball: Romario (Brazil)
* Adidas Golden Shoe: Oleg Salenko (Russia), Hristo Stoichkov (Bulgaria) each with 6 goals
* Yashin Award for the Best Goalkeeper: Michel Preud’homme (Belgium)
* FIFA Fair Play award: Brazil
* FIFA Award for the Most Entertaining Team: Brazil
World Cup Italy 1990 Facts and Statistics
wc_1990Germany triumphed at the 1990 Italy World cup, with the achievement being an extra special one for Franz Beckenbauer, as he became the second man to lift the World Cup trophy as both a player and a coach. The enduring image from Italy 90 may be the sight of tough-guy English player Paul Gascoigne in tears after his team lost their semi-final match with Germany in a heartbreaking penalty shootout.
* Winne
r: West Germany* Runners-Up: Argentina
* Third; Italy
* Fourth: England
* Adidas Golden Ball: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy)
* Adidas Golden Shoe: Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) with 6 goals
* FIFA Fair Play award: England
World Cup Mexico 1986 Facts and Statistics
wc_1986There was a great deal of drama in Mexico in 1986. The brilliance of Diego Maradona propelled the Argentine team to eventual victory, but it was marred by the “Hand of God” controversy over the goal he ‘scored’ against England in the quarterfinals.
* Winner: Argentina
* Runners-Up: West Germany
* Third: France
* Fourth: Belgium
* Adidas Golden Ball: Diego Maradona (Argentina)
* Adidas Golden Shoe: Gary Lineker (England) with 6 goals
* FIFA Fair Play award: Brazil
World Cup Spain 1982 Facts and Statistics
wc_1982The hero of the 1982 tournament had to be Paolo Rossi, whose six tournament goals helped propel Italy to their third World Cup title. They defeated West Germany, who had barely survived the tournament’s first penalty shoot out against the French in the semifinals.
* Winner: Italy
* Runners-Up: West Germany
* Third: Poland
* Fourth: France
* Adidas Golden Ball: Paolo Rossi (Italy)
* Adidas Golden Shoe: Paolo Rossi (Italy) with 6 goals
* FIFA Fair Play award: Brazil
World Cup 1978 Argentina Facts and Statistics
wc_1978The home side were the victors in 1978, defeating the Netherlands who were left with the runners-up medals for the second tournament in a row. Ultimately it was the brilliance of Mario Kempes that carried the Argentines to a confetti heavy celebration in Estadio Monumental.
* Winner: Argentina
* Runners-Up: Netherlands
* Third: Brazil
* Fourth: Italy
* Golden Shoe: Mario Kempes (Argentina) with 6 goals
* FIFA Fair Play award: Argentina
World Cup 1974 West Germany Facts and Statistics
wc_1974Once again, in what has become a theme in World Cup competitions, the home side lifted the trophy, beating the heavily favored Netherlands who were led by the legendary Johan Cruyff, 2-1 in the final match.
* Winner: West Germany
* Runners-Up: Netherlands
* Third: Poland
* Fourth: Brazil
* Golden Shoe: Grzegorz Lato (Poland) with 7 goals
World Cup 1970 Mexico Facts and Statistics
wc_1970For the first time the World Cup was broadcast on television in color, and nothing was brighter than the yellow shirts of the Brazilians. Led by Pele and Jairzinho, the latter scoring a goal in every game, the Brazilians dominated their opposition.
* Winner: Brazil
* Runners-Up: Italy
* Third: West Germany
* Fourth: Uruguay
* Golden Shoe: Gerd Mueller (Germany) with 10 goals
World Cup 1966 England Facts and Statistics
wc_1966The country that invented the game of soccer finally found the winning combination at home. Led by the legendary Alf Ramsey, and buoyed by Geoff Hurst’s historic hat trick, England bested rivals West Germany for their first World Cup championship.
* Winner: England
* Runners-Up: West Germany
* Third: Portugal
* Fourth: Soviet Union
* Golden Shoe: Eusebio (Portugal) with 9 goals
World Cup 1962 Chile Facts and Statistics
wc_1962Brazil scored a well-deserved win over Czechoslovakia, despite the fact that the legendary Pele was unable to play due to injury. Teammate Garrincha more than made up for the loss though, and the whole tournament became a showcase for his extraordinary skills.
* Winner: Brazil
* Runners-Up: Czechoslovakia
* Third: Chile
* Fourth: Yugoslavia
* Golden Shoe: Florian Albert (Hungary), Valentin Ivanov (USSR), Drazen Jerkovic (Yugoslavia), Leonel Sanchez (Chile), Vava (Brazil), Garricncha (Brazil) each with 4 goals
World Cup 1958 Sweden Facts and Statistics
wc_1958This was the tournament that saw the beginning of Brazil’s domination of the World Cup competition. They won the title for the first time and the tournament introduced a 17 year old named Pele to the soccer world at large.
* Winner: Brazil
* Runners-Up: Sweden
* Third: France
* Fourth: West Germany
* Golden Shoe: Just Fontaine (France) with 13 goal
World Cup 1954 Switzerland Facts and Statistics
wc_1954In one of the most thrilling Finals ever seen in the World Cup Tournament, underdogs West Germany came back from a two-goal deficit to beat Hungary in a game that became known as the “Miracle of Berne.” The highly favored Hungarians had been unbeaten in their previous 31 matches.
* Winner: West Germany
* Runners-Up: Hungary
* Third: Austria
* Fourth: Uruguay
* Golden Shoe: Sandor Kocsis (Hungary) with 11 goals
World Cup 1950 Brazil Facts and Statistics
wc_1950The Brazilians built the world’s biggest soccer stadium, the Maracana, especially for the 1950 World Cup but it was the then mighty Uruguay who lifted the champions’ trophy in the huge new bowl. Another moment England fans might prefer to forget – being defeated by the United States.
* Winner: Uruguay
* Runners-Up: Brazil
* Third: Sweden
* Fourth: Spain
* Golden Shoe: Ademir (Brazil) with 8 goals
World Cup 1938 France Facts and Statistics
wc_1938Vittorio Pozzo made history when his Italian side captured their second World Cup crown, after hard fought clashes with Brazil in the semifinals and a strong Hungarian side in the finals. Brazil’s Leonidas shone most brightly though, netting three goals in a 6-5 victory over Poland.
* Winner: Italy
* Runners-Up: Hungary
* Third: Brazil
* Fourth: Sweden
* Golden Shoe: Leonidas (Brazil) with 7 goals
World Cup 1934 Italy Facts and Statistics
wc_1934In the first World Cup to be played on European soil the Italians rewarded their hordes of loyal fans with a final victory over Czechoslovakia. Reigning champions Uruguay refused to participate in 1934, making them the only team to not attempt to defend their crown.
* Winner: Italy
* Runners-Up: Czechoslovakia
* Third: Germany
* Fourth: Austria
* Golden Shoe: Oldrich Nejedly (Czechoslovakia) with 5 goals
World Cup 1930 Uruguay Facts and Statistics
wc_1930FIFA president Jules Rimet’s dream of a truly international soccer championship was realized in Uruguay in the association’s centennial year. Only four European teams participated in that first tournament though, and the final was an all South American affair, with the hosts facing rivals Argentina. Although they had trailed at the half, Uruguay came back to win 4-2 in the specially built Estadio Centenario to become the first ever official soccer world champions. And for those who think that soccer is “new” to the United States, note that the US national team finished in third place in that inaugural competition.
* Winner: Uruguay
* Runners-Up: Argentina
* Third: United States
* Fourth: Yugoslavia
* Golden Shoe: Guillermo Stabile (Argentina) with 8 goals
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