Old and new stars scored, and a new milestone was reached, on WED 20 SEP 2006. more...

The mystery was drawn out of one group, but another was further muddled, on THU 15 JUN 2006. more...

Two Men's World Cup newcomers held their own against world powers on SAT 10 JUN 2006. more...

The final draw for the 2006 Men's World Cup paired up several well known opponents, starting in Group B, where for the second straight World Cup, England will face Sweden in the first round. In Group G, qualifying rivals France and Switzerland, who battled in UEFA Group 4, meet again. Brazil, Australia, and Japan, who regularly meet at Confederations Cup tournaments, are together again in Group F. But the consensus Group of Death is likely to be Group C, made up of Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire, Serbia-Montenegro, and the Netherlands. The tournament's opening match will be Germany-Costa Rica, FRI 09 JUN 2006 in München. more...

The CONMEBOL/OFC playoff between Australia and Uruguay went to overtime after both legs finished 1-0 to the home team. After thirty goalless minutes, it became the first time a Men's World Cup place was decided on penalties. Mark SCHWARZER saved two attempts, and John ALOISI scored the winner to send Australia into their first World Cup since Germany 1974. Elsewhere, Dennis LAWRENCE was the hero for the Soca Warriors as Trinidad-Tobago won the AFC/CONCACAF playoff 2-1 on aggregate over Bahrain, qualifying for the first time. In the UEFA playoffs, Turkey stormed back from a 3-0 aggregate deficit, but Marco STRELLER scored a second away goal as the final score ended up 4-4, Switzerland qualifying 2-0 on away goals. The Czech Rep dispatched Norway 2-0 on aggregate, and Spain won 6-2 on aggregate over Slovakia.

After 837 matches played and 2,441 goals scored [not counting Mirjalal KASIMOV's goal in the Great Annulled Match of SAT 03 SEP 2005], 27 of the 32 teams to compete at Germany 2006 are known. The other five will be the winners of the AFC/CONCACAF playoff between Trinidad-Tobago and Bahrain, the CONMEBOL/OFC playoff between Uruguay and Australia, and the winners of the three UEFA playoffs. Each of the three seeded teams – Czech Rep, Spain, and Turkey – will be drawn against an unseeded team – Norway, Slovakia, and Switzerland – in Zürich on FRI 14 OCT 2005.

The only thing to be determined in the CONCACAF final round on WED 12 OCT 2005 was the playoff team's identity. more...

Bahrain came out attacking against Uzbekistan in the second leg of their AFC playoff on WED 12 OCT 2005, and despite never finding net, they also kept the Uzbeks off the scoreboard. With a 0-0 result on the day and a 1-1 aggregate scoreline, Bahrain moved through on away goals, 1-0, thanks to Talal MOHAMED's goal in the first leg in Tashkent. Trinidad-Tobago will face Bahrain in the AFC/CONCACAF playoff.

The last of the usual suspects qualified in the CONCACAF final round on SAT 08 OCT 2005. more...

The next place at Germany 2006 was claimed in the CONCACAF final round on WED 07 SEP 2005. more...

At least one of CONCACAF's superpowers was guaranteed to qualify in the CONCACAF final round on SAT 03 SEP 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF final round on WED 17 AUG 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF final round on WED 08 JUN 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF final round on SAT 04 JUN 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF final round on WED 30 MAR 2005. more...

A quick summary of action around the CONCACAF final round on the weekend of SAT 26-SUN 27 MAR 2005. more...