The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition between the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.
Franz Anton Beckenbauer is a German former professional football player and manager. In his playing career he was nicknamed Der Kaiser because of his elegant style, dominance and leadership on the field, and also as his first name "Franz" is reminiscent of the Austrian emperors. He is widely regarded to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. A versatile player who started out as a midfielder, Beckenbauer made his name as a central defender. He is often credited as having invented the role of the modern sweeper. With success at club and international level, he is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or.
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six populated continents participated in the qualification process which began in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified from this process along with hosts Germany for the finals tournament. It was the second time that Germany staged the competition and the first as a unified country along with the former East Germany with Leipzig as a host city, and the 10th time that the tournament was held in Europe.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup, also branded as South Africa 2010, was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.
Miroslav Josef Klose is a German professional football manager and former player. A striker, Klose is the all-time top scorer for Germany and holds the record for the most goals scored in the FIFA World Cup.
The FIFA Women's World Cup is an international association football competition contested by the senior women's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's international governing body. The competition has been held every four years and one year after the men's FIFA World Cup since 1991, when the inaugural tournament, then called the FIFA Women's World Championship, was held in China. Under the tournament's current format, national teams vie for 31 slots in a three-year qualification phase. The host nation's team is automatically entered as the 32nd slot. The tournament, called the World Cup Finals, is contested at venues within the host nation(s) over a period of about one month.
The Germany national football team represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.
The FIFA Men's World Ranking is a ranking system for men's national teams in association football, led by Argentina as of April 2023. The teams of the men's member nations of FIFA, football's world governing body, are ranked based on their game results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. The rankings were introduced in December 1992, and eight teams have held the top position, of which Brazil have spent the longest ranked first.
Arjen Robben is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. Known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots, Robben is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and was widely considered as one of the greatest wingers in the world in his prime.
Thomas Hitzlsperger is a German director of football and former footballer who played as a midfielder. In February 2019, he was appointed Head of Sport of VfB Stuttgart and was subsequently promoted to CEO. In March 2022, he stepped down from this position.
Philipp Lahm is a German former professional footballer who played as a full-back. Considered by many to be one of the greatest full-backs of all time, Lahm was the longtime captain of Bayern Munich, having led them to numerous honours including the 2013 UEFA Champions League as part of the Treble. He is also a former captain of his national team, which he led to win the 2014 FIFA World Cup, before retiring from international football.
Piotr Artur Trochowski is a German former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. According to his FIFA World Cup 2010 profile he is a playmaker known for "his speed, agility, tricky dribbling and refined technique."
The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for women's national association football teams. It was held from 26 June to 17 July 2011 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in October 2007. Japan won the final against the United States on a penalty shoot-out following a 2–2 draw after extra time and became the first Asian team to win a senior FIFA World Cup.
Félix Alexander Borja Valencia is an Ecuadorian footballer, who last played for El Nacional in the Ecuadorian Serie A. He is nicknamed the "kangaroo", or "the cobra of Ecuador", for the spring in his jump. His height makes it easy to score goals for his club and country.
Zlatko Junuzović is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. From 2006 to 2017 he represented the Austria national football team. He was known as a free-kick specialist.
Toni Kroos is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Kroos plays mainly as a central midfielder, but has also been deployed as a deep-lying playmaker in his career. He is known for his vision, passing, creativity, crossing and set-piece ability.
Jérôme Agyenim Boateng is a German professional footballer who last played as a centre-back for French Ligue 1 club Lyon.
Thomas Müller is a German professional footballer who plays for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich and the German national team. A versatile player, Müller has been deployed in a variety of attacking roles – as an attacking midfielder, second striker, centre forward, and on either wing. He has been praised for his positioning, teamwork, stamina, and work-rate, and has shown consistency in both scoring and creating goals.
Svenja Anette Huth is a German footballer who plays for VfL Wolfsburg and the Germany national team.
The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup was the seventh FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international soccer championship contested by the women's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Canada for the first time and by a North American country for the third time. Matches were played in six cities across Canada in five time zones. The tournament began on 6 June 2015, and finished with the final on 5 July 2015 with a United States victory over Japan.
