A Brief History of the World Cup

Moment of Madness
The unfancied French put the disappointment of a first-round exit in 2002 behind them four years later to reach the 2006 final in Germany. Once again, Zinedine Zidane was the inspiration, and his goal in the final against Italy led to a 1-1 tie and extra time. During those 30 minutes, something inside of Zidane snapped, and his reaction to a callous remark by Italian defender Marco Materazzi was to headbutt his opponent. An inevitable red card followed, and his last action on a soccer field was to gaze wistfully at the World Cup trophy as he walked down the tunnel ...

• A Team-by-Team Guide to the 2010 World Cup