79 days to go: European hegemony
FIFA counts down to the World Cup 2026 with a daily statistical story.
European teams collected 79 points at Germany 2006 – the most from one confederation in the group stage of a World Cup. Germany, Portugal and Spain all registered nine points. Next came England, Italy, the Netherlands and Switzerland with seven, Ukraine with six, and France and Sweden with five. Ten of the 14 UEFA representatives reached the last 16, with Czech Republic (3 points), Poland (3), Croatia (2) and Serbia and Montenegro (0) missing out.
The monopoly continued in the knockout phase, in which no side from Europe lost to a side from outside it. Germany eliminated Argentina and France knocked out Brazil, with Italy and Portugal ensuring all four semi-finalists were from ‘The Old Continent’.