Can you name Italy’s victorious XI from the 2006 World Cup final?

Quizzes

Gianluigi Buffon celebrates with his arms open and fireworks above his head after Italy had won the 2006 World Cup final against France in Berlin, July 2006.

Planet Football
28th January 2022

The 2006 World Cup probably isn’t best remembered for free-flowing football.

Graham Poll’s three yellow cards, Switzerland and Ukraine playing out the most boring match of all time, Wayne Rooney stamping on Ricardo Carvalho’s testicles and a Helen Lovejoy-baiting skirmish between Portugal and the Netherlands were all standout memories from that month in Germany.

And nothing defined the tournament quite like the final between Italy and France in Berlin’s iconic Olympiastadion.

Both teams were unexpected finalists. Italy had squeezed past Australia before eliminating the hosts during a fine semi-final while France had dispatched Spain, Brazil and Portugal thanks largely to the majesty of Zinedine Zidane.

After trading a pair of early goals, both sides settled down for a two-hour arm wrestle that grew with tension with every passing minute.

Everybody remembers Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt and Italy going on to win the subsequent penalty shoot-out but how many of Italy’s starting XI can you name?

Marcello Lippi made full use of his squad during the competition and the XI that started the victory over France was a mix of generational talent and some more obscure Serie A players that became national heroes during the summer of 2006.

If this puts you in the mood for another challenge, why not have a go at naming every winner of the European Golden Shoe since 2000?

You’ll need to sign up to Starting 11 below to play the quiz and completing it will also put you on our weekly Starting 11 leaderboard. You can access the leaderboard via the dropdown menu on the quiz below. The time from the office to beat is 02:28.

Good luck and don’t forget to tweet us your scores @planetfutebol.