Germany 2006....Fixtures

Here is some detail about the 2006 FIFA World Cup.




The official emblem.

The official Poster.








The Groups

Group A
Germany - Costa Rica - Poland - Ecuador.

Group B
England - Paraguay - Trinidad and Tobago - Sweden.

Group - C
Argentina - Ivory Coast - Serbia and Montenegro - Netherlands.

Group D
Mexico - Iran - Angola - Portugal.

Group E
Italy - Ghana - USA - Czech Republic.

Group F
Brazil - Croatia - Australia - Japan.

Group G
France - Switzerland - Korea Republic - Togo.

Group H
Spain - Ukraine - Tunisia - Saudi Arabia.


The Matches

Arena-based

First Round


Second Round thru Finale



Date-based

First Round


Second Round thru Finale



The knockout phase




My Predictions:

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Group | Winner | Runner-up
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A | Germany | Ecuador
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B | England | Sweden
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C | Argentina | Netherlands
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D | Portugal | Mexico
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E | Italy | USA
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F | Brazil | Japan
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G | France | Korea
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H | Spain | Ukraine
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The knockout phase would be more like

By the way, the above prediction is on my assumption that Germany is not that good a team. But, if they are stronger than what I belive them to be then they might beat Argentina, Italy and maybe even Brazil. I am saying this because of the fact that they are the hosts. Germany can make a good run if they have enough strength. But, I give them only an outside chance to win the tounament. My favorites remain Brazil. The reason is simple: they are the strongest.

There are quite a lot of interesting matches taking place in the first phase. I think that the following matches should be interesting to watch.

1. Poland vs Ecudor - The fight for second place - 9-June.
2. USA vs Czech Republic - The same reason as above - 12-June.
3. Spain vs Ukraine - Schevshenko + Spain not that strong an outfit - 14-June.
4. Sweden vs England - Old rivalry - 20-June.
5. Netherlands vs. Argentina - Two good teams - 21-June (one year since Infy)
6. Portugal vs Mexico - Two good teams + quest for supremacy - 21-June.

I think the above ones will be good to look out for as the quality will be better than some other equally contested matches. Then in the knock-out phase you have almost every match to look into especially from the quarter-final time.

.....:::Peace:::.....