About the Tournament

In this 2006 World Cup, the host is Germany. There are a total of 32 teams representing their nations. The defending champions of the last World Cup will not be automatically qualified because FIFA is changing its regualtions. But the host nation, Germany is automaticly qualified to participate in the Tournament. The rest of the nations will have to qualify over a 2 and half year period. Nations are randomly placed in groups. Each group has 4 nations.

There are really only two rounds to the Tournament. The first round is the group elimination stage, the two best nations in each group will advance. The next round is called the World Cup Finals, it's the most competitive stage there are 5 parts to it. Winners advance and losers buy a ticket home. The first part is Round of 16, next the quarterfinals, semifinals, the third place and the finals. The Cup takes 30 days to complete from May 31- June 30 and this year there are 64 matches being played. The World Cup is the best Soccer Tournament in the World. Each nation is representing their skills in Soccer, and the winner recieves World respect and recognition for the next four years until the next Cup.