To celebrate the 18th anniversary of Italy’s fourth World Cup triumph, Sports Mole challenges you to name every member of their 2006 World Cup-winning squad.
Eighteen years ago to this day, Italy were crowned world champions for the fourth time in their history when they came out on top against France in a memorable final on penalties at the Olympiastadion in Berlin – the same venue for the Euro 2024 showpiece event.
The Azzurri secured top spot in their group after collecting seven points from a possible nine available, beating Ghana and Czech Republic by 2-0 scorelines either side of a 1-1 draw with USA.
Managed by Marcello Lippi, Italy went on to beat Australia, Ukraine and Germany without reply in the knockout rounds to set up a blockbuster final with reigning world champions France, who has previously beaten Spain, Brazil and Portugal in the knockout rounds.
A lively start to the final saw both teams score within the first 20 minutes but they were eventually forced to settle the most prestigious game in football on penalties. France were unable to call upon star man Zinedine Zidane in the shootout after he was shown a straight red card for an unforgettable headbutt in extra time.
Italy went on to score five perfect penalties and win the shootout 5-3 to lift the World Cup for the first time in 24 years. Their success in Berlin is still to this day the last time they got their hands on the trophy.
To celebrate the 16th anniversary of Italy’s fourth World Cup triumph, Sports Mole challenges you to name the Azzurri’s squad from the 2006 tournament.