Both Volkswagen and Bayer announced investments in Thailand and South Korea, whose respective delegates Worawi Makudi and Chung Jong-Moon were possible voters for Germany. DaimlerChrysler invested several hundred million Euro in Hyundai, while one of the sons of the company's founders was a member of FIFA's executive committee. Just a week before the vote, the German government under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lifted their arms embargo on Saudi Arabia and agreed to send grenade launchers to the country. More irregularities surfaced soon after, including, in the months leading up to the decision, the sudden interest of German politicians and major businesses in the four Asian countries whose delegates were decisive for the vote. Had Dempsey voted as originally instructed, the vote would have resulted with a 12–12 tie, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who favoured the South African bid, would have had to cast the deciding vote. He abstained, citing "intolerable pressure" on the eve of the vote. Oceania delegate Charlie Dempsey, who had initially backed England, had then been instructed to support South Africa following England's elimination. On the night before the vote, German satirical magazine Titanic sent letters to FIFA representatives, offering joke gifts like cuckoo clocks and Black Forest ham in exchange for their vote for Germany. On the very day of the vote, a hoax bribery affair was made public, leading to calls for a re-vote. The first two rounds were held on 6 July 2000, and the final round was held on 7 July 2000, which Germany won over South Africa.Īccusations of bribery and corruption had marred the success of Germany's bid from the very beginning. Three rounds of voting were required, each round eliminating the nation with the fewest votes. It involved four bidding nations after Brazil had withdrawn three days earlier: Germany, South Africa, England and Morocco. The vote to choose the hosts of the 2006 tournament was held in July 2000 in Zürich, Switzerland. The final attracted an estimated audience of 715.1 million people. The 2006 World Cup stands as one of the most watched events in television history, garnering an estimated 26.29 billion times viewed, compiled over the course of the tournament. Due to time constraints, FIFA had Serbia and Montenegro play in the World Cup tournament as one team, marking the first instance of multiple sovereign nations competing as one team in a major football tournament since UEFA Euro 1992. In late May 2006, immediately prior to the tournament, Montenegro voted in a referendum to become an independent nation and dissolve the loose confederacy then existing between it and Serbia, with Serbia recognizing the results of the referendum in early June.
It was also the only appearance of Serbia and Montenegro under that name they had previously appeared in 1998 as Yugoslavia. Angola, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Trinidad and Tobago, and Togo made their first appearances in the finals. Germany defeated Portugal 3–1 to finish in third place.
They defeated France 5–3 in a penalty shoot-out in the final, after extra time had finished in a 1–1 draw. Italy won the tournament, claiming their fourth World Cup title. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition, the first as a unified country (the other was in 1974 in West Germany), and the tenth time that it was held in Europe. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process, along with the host nation, Germany, for the finals tournament. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament.
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