FIFA World Cup 2006 Group A

fifa world cup 2006 poster As expected, Germany, now coached by Jürgen Klinsmann, qualified for the knock out phase with some ease but Poland, who were expected to join them, could not recover from defeat at the hands of Ecuador in their opening match and were eliminated. Costa Rica, who had made such a positive impression in 2002, finished pointless.

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Germany

Costa Rica

Germany 4 Costa Rica 2

FIFA WM Stadion München (66,000)
9 June 2006

in the opening game of the 2006 tournament, Germany took advantage of some slack defending, Lahm opening the scoring in the sixth minute with a stunning drive. Costa Rica equalised in the 12th minute but two goals from Miroslav Klose put Germany comfortably ahead. Wanchope scored his second to make it 3-2 after 73 minutes but with three minutes to go, Frings scored from 30 yards for Germany.

Ecuador

Poland

Ecuador 2 Poland 0

FIFA WM Stadion Gelsenkirchen (52,000)
9 June 2006

Ecuador looked nervous in the opening stages as Poland pressed but took the lead in the 24th minute against the run of play. Poland did most of the attacking in the second half and hit the woodwork twice but with ten minutes to go, Kaviedes scored again for the South Americans.

Germany

Poland

Germany 1 Poland 0

FIFA WM Stadion Dortmund (65,000)
14 June 2006

Artur Boruc, Poland's goalkeeper, defied the German attack with a wonderful display but in the dying seconds of injury time Oliver Neuville slid the ball past him for the winner. A minute earlier Klose and Ballack had both hit the bar as Germany pressed for a late winner. Poland were on the defensive throughout the match.

Ecuador

Costa Rica

Ecuador 3 Costa Rica 0

FIFA WM Stadion Hamburg (50,000)
15 June 2006

Carlos Tenorio set Ecuador on their way to the knock out stages for the first time with a goal in the eighth minute. Delgado scored their second nine minutes into the second half and Kaviedes put the icing on the cake in the fourth minute of injury time. The result also put Germany through.

Germany

Ecuador

Germany 3 Ecuador 0

Olympiastadion, Berlin (72,000)
20 June 2006

Despite having already qualified, Germany fielded a full strength side, wary of a possible meeting with England in the next round, while Ecuador rested half their players. Klose scored twice (4', 44') and Podolski made it 3-0 in the 57th minute as Germany won at a canter.

Poland

Costa Rica

Poland 2 Costa Rica 1

FIFA WM Stadion Hannover (43,000)
20 June 2006

In the 24th minute Poland fell behind when their goalkeeper, Boruc allowed a low free kick from Gomez to pass between his legs. The match opened up and in the 33rd minute Bosacki volleyed home following a corner and in the 65th minute he headed home the winner. Costa Rica had the ball in the net in the closing minutes but the effort was ruled out for offside.