The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the eighteenth FIFA World Cup and was held in Germany from 9 June to 9 July 2006. It was the second time Germany had hosted the tournament, but the first time as a unified country; West Germany hosted the 1974 FIFA World Cup. The tournament was won by Italy who claimed their fourth title beating France 5-3 on penalties after the match had ended 1-1 after extra time in the Olympiastadion, Berlin.
- 1. Host selection
- 2. Qualifying
- 3. Wales and the 2006 World Cup
- 4. Wales players used during qualifying
Brazil, England, Germany, Morocco and South Africa declared an interest in hosting the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Prior to the FIFA Executive meeting in Zurich on 6 July 2000, Brazil withdrew from the contest. Three rounds of voting were required, each round eliminating the nation with the fewest votes.
Morocco were eliminated in the first round receiving just three votes. England were eliminated in the second round receiving just two votes. In the final round Germany secured the tournament winning 12 votes to South Africa's 11.
One hundred and ninety eight1 countries entered the qualifying competition.
Hosts, Germany, qualified automatically but for the first time, the holders would not qualify automatically meaning Brazil had to enter the CONCACAF qualifiers.
Of the remaining 31 places, 13 were allocated to Europe (UEFA), four to South America (CONMEBOL), three to the North and Central American and Caribbean (CONCACAF), five to Africa (CAF) and four to Asia (AFC) whilst one qualifier from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) would face one team from the CONMEBOL qualifiers in an intercontinental play off and one qualifier from the AFC would face a qualifier from CONCACAF for the final two places.
Fifty one teams entered the European qualifiers for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Hosts Germany qualified automatically.
The remaining 50 teams were divided into eight groups; five groups of six teams and three groups of seven teams. The group winners would qualify along with the two best runners-up. The other runners-up would advance to the UEFA play-offs.
Wales were placed in Pot D as fourth seeds, and were drawn in Group 6 alongside England, Poland, Austria, Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan. This would be Wales' first meeting with England since the 1984 British Home Championship match.
Uefa qualifying Group 6
| no. | date | score | scorers (wales) | venue | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 04/09/2004 | Northern Ireland 0-3 Poland | Windsor Park, Belfast | WCQ | ||
| 04/09/2004 | Austria 2-2 England | Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna | WCQ | ||
| 524 | 04/09/2004 | Azerbaijan 1-1 Wales | Speed | Tofik Bakhramov, Baku | WCQ |
| 08/09/2004 | Austria 2-0 Azerbaijan | Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna | WCQ | ||
| 525 | 08/09/2004 | Wales 2-2 Northern Ireland | Hartson, Earnshaw | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 08/09/2004 | Poland 1-2 England | Stadion Śląski, Chorzów | WCQ | ||
| 09/10/2004 | Austria 1-3 Poland | Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna | WCQ | ||
| 09/10/2004 | Azerbaijan 0-0 Northern Ireland | Tofik Bakhramov, Baku | WCQ | ||
| 526 | 09/10/2004 | England 2-0 Wales | Old Trafford, Manchester | WCQ | |
| 13/10/2004 | Azerbaijan 0-1 England | Tofik Bakhramov, Baku | WCQ | ||
| 13/10/2004 | Northern Ireland 3-3 Austria | Windsor Park, Belfast | WCQ | ||
| 527 | 13/10/2004 | Wales 2-3 Poland | Earnshaw, Hartson | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ |
| 26/03/2005 | England 4-0 Northern Ireland | Old Trafford, Manchester | WCQ | ||
| 26/03/2005 | Poland 8-0 Azerbaijan | Stadionu Legii, Warsaw | WCQ | ||
| 529 | 26/03/2005 | Wales 0-2 Austria | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ | |
| 530 | 30/03/2005 | Austria 1-0 Wales | Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna | WCQ | |
| 30/03/2005 | England 2-0 Azerbaijan | St James' Park, Newcastle | WCQ | ||
| 30/03/2005 | Poland 1-0 Northern Ireland | Stadionu Legii, Warsaw | WCQ | ||
| 04/06/2005 | Azerbaijan 0-3 Poland | Tofik Bakhramov, Baku | WCQ | ||
| 03/09/2005 | Poland 3-2 Austria | Stadion Śląski, Chorzów | WCQ | ||
| 03/09/2005 | Northern Ireland 2-0 Azerbaijan | Windsor Park, Belfast | WCQ | ||
| 532 | 03/09/2005 | Wales 0-1 England | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ | |
| 07/09/2005 | Azerbaijan 0-0 austria | Tofik Bakhramov, Baku | WCQ | ||
| 07/09/2005 | Northern Ireland 1-0 England | Windsor Park, Belfast | WCQ | ||
| 533 | 07/09/2005 | Poland 1-0 Wales | Stadionu Legii, Warsaw | WCQ | |
| 08/10/2005 | England 1-0 Austria | Old Trafford, Manchester | WCQ | ||
| 534 | 08/10/2005 | Northern Ireland 2-3 Wales | Davies, Robinson, Giggs | Windsor Park, Belfast | WCQ |
| 12/10/2005 | Austria 2-0 Northern Ireland | Ernst Happel Stadion, Vienna | WCQ | ||
| 12/10/2005 | England 2-1 Poland | Old Trafford, Manchester | WCQ | ||
| 535 | 12/10/2005 | Wales 2-0 Azerbaijan | Giggs (2) | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | WCQ |
Group standings
| P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | England | 10 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 25 |
| 2. | Poland | 10 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 9 | 24 |
| 3. | Austria | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 12 | 15 |
| 4. | Northern Ireland | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 9 |
| 5. | Wales | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 8 |
| 6. | Azerbaijan | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 3 |
Wales were placed in Pot D as fourth seeds, and were drawn in Group 6 alongside England, Poland, Austria, Northern Ireland and Azerbaijan. This would be Wales' first meeting with England since the 1984 British Home Championship match.
Wales' chances of qualifying took an early knock with two draws in the opening two games against the lowest seeded sides in the group following which, manager Mark Hughes announced he would be leaving to take over as manager of Blackburn Rovers.
Despite the announcement, Hughes took charge of Wales' matches against England at Old Trafford and Poland at the Millennium Stadium; a match which also saw Gary Speed retire from international football.
John Toshack took over as manager for the remaining games in the campaign but with Nathan Blake, Mark Crossley, Andy Johnson, Andy Melville, Mark Pembridge and Robbie Savage all announcing their retirement from international football, Toshack's job was made all the harder.
Joe Ledley made his debut in the defeat in Warsaw with Andrew Crofts and David Cotterill winning their first caps in the final match against Azerbaijan.
Players used during qualifying
Wales used a total of 31 players during the qualifying campaign with no single player playing in every game.
Mark Hughes took charge of his final game as manager of Wales in the 2-3 home defeat to Poland with John Toshack taking over as manager for the remainder of the campaign.
Andy Melville won his 65th and final cap against Azerbaijan in Baku. Gary Speed won his 85th and final cap in the home match against Poland which was also Robbie Savage's 39th and final cap.
Joe Ledley made his debut in the defeat to Poland in Warsaw with Andrew Crofts and David Cotterill winning their first caps in the final match against Azerbaijan.
| Player | AZE | NIR | ENG | POL | AUT | AUT | ENG | POL | NIR | AZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Craig Bellamy | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Danny Collins | 3 | 53 | ||||||||
| James Collins | 90 | 90 | 58 | 25 | 90 | 52 | 90 | |||
| David Cotterill | 16 | |||||||||
| Danny Coyne | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||||
| Andrew Crofts | 23 | |||||||||
| Craig Davies | 21 | |||||||||
| Simon Davies | 90 | 90 | 75 | 90 | 70 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||
| Mark Delaney | 90 | 25 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | |||
| Richard Duffy | 90 | 45 | 38 | 90 | ||||||
| Rob Earnshaw | 2 | 65 | 16 | 90 | 15 | 20 | 82 | |||
| Rob Edwards | 45 | 77 | ||||||||
| Carl Fletcher | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 67 | ||||
| Danny Gabbidon | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | |
| Ryan Giggs | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 74 | |||
| John Hartson | 90 | 90 | 90 | 11 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||
| Paul Jones | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Jason Koumas | 88 | 90 | 74 | 86 | 36 | 69 | ||||
| Joe Ledley | 8 | |||||||||
| Andy Melville | 90 | |||||||||
| John Oster | 45 | 90 | ||||||||
| Rob Page | 90 | 90 | 32 | 65 | ||||||
| Paul Parry | 27 | 4 | ||||||||
| David Partridge | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | ||||||
| Mark Pembridge | 45 | 59 | ||||||||
| Sam Ricketts | 90 | 90 | 90 | 90 | 87 | 37 | ||||
| Carl Robinson | 31 | 90 | 90 | 54 | 90 | 90 | ||||
| Robbie Savage | 90 | 9  | 90 | |||||||
| Gary Speed | 90 | 90 | 90 | 79 | ||||||
| Ben Thatcher | 63 | 90 | 90 | |||||||
| David Vaughan | 13 | 90 |
1Of the 198 countries who entered, the Central African Republic, Guam and Nepal withdrew without playing a single match. Myanmar were excluded from entering for refusing to play Iran in a 2002 FIFA World Cup qialfying match.
