The 2006 FIFA World Cup European Qualification Playoffs were a set of home-and-away playoffs to decide the final three places granted to national football teams from European nations (more precisely, UEFA members) for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
By the rules of the UEFA qualifying tournament, the first-place finishers in each of eight groups received automatic berths, along with the two second-place teams that had earned the most points against teams in the top six of their individual groups.
The six remaining second-place teams were divided into two pots based on their standings in the September 2005 FIFA World Rankings. The division was:
A draw was held on 14 October 2005 at FIFA headquarters in Zürich to pair each team from Pot 1 with a team from Pot 2. A second draw at the same time and location determined the order of the fixtures.
The playoffs were decided by the standard FIFA method of aggregate score, with away goals and, if necessary, extra time with the possibility of a penalty shootout at the end of the second leg. The winner of each playoff was awarded a place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
| 12 November 2005 22:00 CET |
Spain | 5 – 1 | Slovakia | Vicente Calderón Stadium, Madrid Attendance: 47,210 Referee: Massimo De Santis (Italy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis García 10', 18', 74' Torres 65' (pen.) Morientes 79' |
Report | Németh 49' |
| 12 November 2005 20:45 CET |
Switzerland | 2 – 0 | Turkey | Stade de Suisse, Berne Attendance: 31,130 Referee: Ľuboš Micheľ (Slovakia) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senderos 41' Behrami 86' |
Report |
| 12 November 2005 19:30 CET |
Norway | 0 – 1 | Czech Republic | {{{stadium}}} |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Šmicer 31' |
| 16 November 2005 20:15 CET |
Slovakia | 1 – 1 | Spain | Tehelné pole, Bratislava Attendance: 23,587 Referee: Markus Merk (Germany) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hološko 50' | Report | Villa 71' |
Spain won 6–2 on aggregate.
| 16 November 2005 20:15 EET |
Turkey | 4 – 2 | Switzerland | Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, Istanbul Attendance: 42,000 Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuncay 22', 36', 89' Necati 52' (pen.) |
Report | Frei 2' (pen.) Streller 84' |
Switzerland 4–4 Turkey. Switzerland won on away goals.
| 16 November 2005 20:15 CET |
Czech Republic | 1 – 0 | Norway | Toyota Arena, Prague Attendance: 17,464 Referee: Graham Poll (England) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosický 35' | Report |
Czech Republic won 2–0 on aggregate.
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