Live Ticker: Italy 6 : 4 France

Berlin awash in blue
While German black, red and gold banners are still to be found, it's Italian and French shade of blue that rule today's World Cup final. Hopefully the two stingy defenses won't cancel each other out and we'll have the type of soccer both teams displayed at the end of their semi-final matches.

Final line-ups announced
Neither side will be making any changes from the successful semi-final starters.

Here's how the teams will take the field:

France:

Fabien Barthez; Willy Sagnol, Lilian Thuram, William Gallas, Eric Abidal, Patrick Vieira, Claude Makelele, Franck Ribery, Zinedine Zidane (capt), Florent Malouda, Thierry Henry

Coach: Raymond Domenech

Italy:

Gianluigi Buffon, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro (capt), Marco Materazzi, Fabio Grosso, Mauro Camoranesi, Andrea Pirlo, Gennaro Gattuso, Simone Perrotta, Francesco Totti, Luca Toni

Coach: Marcello Lippi

Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)

Previews of the Final

DW-WORLD.DE has plenty of background on the final and finalists to keep you busy until kick-off. Get all the info at www.dw-world.de/worldcup

Shake it Berlin
The 69,000 fan sin Berlin's Olympic Stadium are being treated to a hip-shaking performance by Shakira. -- This probably isn't the kind of motivational music the two coaches want droning into the locker rooms.

Crowd gets a chance to sing
The French and Italian teams come out of the players' tunnel to take the field and line up for their national anthems.

Not much longer now
Zidane and Cannavaro shake hands with the ref and exchange flags for the coin toss while the rest of the players hop around and get in a few last minute stretches.

1. min.
The final is on!
Italy start by kicking off the golden Teamgeist ball. Let's hope for an open game -- and some great goals.

2. min.
Henry hurt already
France's first quick move out of the midfield saw Henry crash into Cannavaro and the Frenchman looks woozy and is slow in getting up.

4. min.
Who's your mother?
The French doctor has a few questions for Henry as he staggers around the center circle after smashing his head into the Italian captain under a minute into the game.

5. min.
Yellow for Zambrotta
A highly motivated Zambrotta charges to the top of the box and slides -- very late -- into Vieira for a booking.

6. min.
Penalty for France!


6. min.
Materazzi takes out Malouda's leg and France could go up one early.

7. min.
Zidane scores
Zidane lobs the ball into the upper corner as Buffon goes the wrong way. The ball bounced off the inside of the crossbar, going in before bouncing back out. No question of the goal from the ref.

9. min.
Italy go down for the first time in the 4-week tournament. Let's see how they adjust to being the ones who need to come back from behind.

10. min.
Italy respond with a near own-goal
Materazzi deflects a long-range shot from Sagnol, forcing Buffon to block the ball over the end line.

12. min.
Yellow for France
Sagnol and Grosso can both be found on the ground after Sagnol is booked for running into the Italian.

14. min.
After a short period of being shocked, the Italians are slowly moving the ball forward and win a free kick 30 yards out.

15. min.
Pirlo crosses it to the near post but Thuram is able to head it out off the field. The corner is cleared, but Italy win the ball at midfield and keep up the pressure.

17. min.
Toni gives a nice pass off to Grosso, but the defender crosses into the stands.

18. min.
The French defense is proving as tough as the Italian and the ball is being trapped in the middle of the field, though the Italians are getting the most time with the ball.

19. min.
Goal Italy!


20. min.
Materazzi makes good on a corner kick from Pirlo. Barthez wanted to come out of goal but was undecided. Materazzi was able to out jump Vieira and head the ball into goal.

22. min.
Now France are the ones to take their time with the ball. After being content to watch the Italians, les Bleus now have begun looking for the third goal of the game.

24. min.
The Italian defense is showing why this is the first game where they had to climb out of a one goal deficit. They are calmly stripping the ball away from the French in the defensive third.

26. min.
Henry gets a through ball to Ribery, but the cross doesn't reach a French target. Italy win back the throw-in and control the ball in the back before sending a long ball that finishes helplessly in front of Barthez.

27. min.
Zidane, the French superstar who so wanted a final win to end his career, is having a difficult time getting into the game. His passes are missing the crisp accuracy that made him a legend.

28. min.
Materazzi wins another header on a corner kick but is called on it after pushing Vieira away to make room for himself.

30. min.
Makelele has a few words of complaint after giving up a free kick in the midfield. Elizondo doesn't book him, but slows the game a bit to let tempers cool.

32. min.
Back at one all, the game has slowed down into the defensive trenches many expected from both teams. Not much action to report from Berlin at the moment.

34. min.
Perrotta falls after Ribery steps on his foot. The Italian is holding his left ankle, and Zidane takes a few moments to give his team some instructions.

36. min.
Gattuso and Toni combine well in the French penalty box before Thuram can cut off the ball. Toni wins the ensuing corner kick and his header doesn't find the goal. French marking on the corners is surprising poor.

39. min.
Waiting for a break
Aggressive attacking on 50-50 balls in the midfield is coming from both sides as the teams bide their time for the right time to turn on the speed and attack.

40. min.
A mostly fair scuffle in the middle of the field and Elizondo again takes a moment to let the players back away from each other before whistling the game back on.

42. min.
Late offsides call for Henry
Neither Henry nor Grosso are happy with the amount of time it took the assistant to raise his flag -- for very different reasons.

44. min.
Lots of minor fouls are breaking up any flow this final had. Movement forward is coming in the form of throw-ins and free kicks and quickly won back by the other team in the same way.

45. min.
Two minutes stoppage time in Berlin


45+2. min.
Camoranesi gets Italy's first offsides call of the match. The teams look they'd be more than happy to bring the draw into the locker room.

45+2. min.
There's the whistle
And the ref lets them take a break.

45+2. min.
Halftime report
With the exception of an about 10-minute stretch between goals, this match has been missing what fans would have hoped from a World Cup final. As expected, the teams are evenly matched and playing tactical soccer, patiently waiting for their chances on goal and not giving any chances away.

The teams are coming back onto the field and getting ready for the second half.

46. min.
The second 45 minutes begin
Doesn't look like either team have made any changes from the players who started the match.

47. min.
Henry has his first convincing chance of the match, going past two defenders to get one-on-one with Buffon. But the striker is only able to deliver a weak shot into the keeper's arms.

49. min.
Back and forth…
… go the fouls in Berlin. The second half is starting just where the first ended. Including the Italian corner kicks that give Barthez a heart attack. This time the chaos in the penalty box is manageable, and France move forward.

51. min.
Zidane hits in a corner kick that Toni clears to Ribery's foot. But the midfielder misfires and his shot goes well high of goal.

53. min.
Henry gets the ball from Ribery in the box and is surrounded by three Italians. He needed to play the ball a little faster to have a chance at making a solid shot or pass. Instead he has to settle with losing the ball.

54. min.
Zidane, Henry and Malouda combine on the way into the penalty box. He wants a penalty box for a Zambrotta slide tackle and makes a bit too much of the chance for the ref to believe there was a real foul.

55. min.
Malouda is playing a much more offensive role in this half and gets a cross from the end line to Henry, but the pass is just a few feet off and finishes behind the striker's run.

56. min.
Vieira limps off the field. No one crashed into him, looks like he may have pulled a muscle in his leg.

57. min.
France's first change
Alou Diarra comes on for the injured Vieira.

59. min.
France are a new team now. They're determining the course of play and forcing Italy back on their heels. The last passes aren't as accurate as Domenech would like but they are giving the game a new facet.

60. min.
The Italians have started warming up on the sidelines. What kind of sub will Lippi bring on?

61. min.
Diarra booked
Alou Diarra sees yellow for a late foul.

61. min.
Double change for Italy
Perrotta and Totti come out and Vincenzo Iaquinta and Daniele De Rossi come on.

62. min.
Goal called back
Toni heads a shot past Barthez after a free kick, but the flag goes up directly as he and a teammate are called offsides just as the celebrations are getting started.

64. min.
Henry has a go
The French have reawaken to their semi-final form and Buffon has to make a save to keep the draw intact.

66. min.
The subs have also brought new life to the Italians. Though the French are keeping a bit more of the ball, Italy are moving faster and look more dangerous than at the beginning of the half.

68. min.
Fights for the ball are getting harsher and instead of the whistles from the crowd that we were slowing getting used to at this cup, it's the referee's whistle that is getting the most action in the final.

70. min.
Henry gives the ball off to Ribery and he wants to move forward, but with three blue Italian shirts in front of him and not a French teammate in sight, he takes a shot that goes high and wide.

71. min.
Cannavaro fouls Ribbery and Zidane sends in a cross that Buffon is able to punch out of danger.

73. min.
Before the match Italian coach Lippi said with the teams as evenly matched as these two are, the game would come down to which side was "hungrier." He seems to have been right for the moment. Neither team looks very dangerous for now. Could motivation be missing from a World Cup final?

75. min.
Luca Toni comes back onto the field after getting some treatment on the sidelines after twisting his ankle in the French penalty area.

75. min.
A questionable foul gives Zidane another chance with a free kick.

76. min.
But it goes over Malouda's head, and the Frenchman complains that he was held down.

76. min.
Diarra booked
Diarra makes the typical foul of this World Cup, jumping with his elbow too high for the ref's liking and is booked for the offense.

77. min.
Pirlo has a moment
His free kick goes above the wall and curves to the side netting past a diving Barthez, but the shot is just wide. It was Pirlo's most convincing moment of the game so far.

79. min.
Just over 10 minutes left in regular time and both teams have slowed w-a-y down. Zidane is also down. He looks like he hurt his shoulder after a mid-air collision with Cannavaro.

83. min.
The French captain comes back from some sideline treatment and swings his arm tenderly, but, as he probably won't be needing his arms, he doesn't look ready to leave the final.

84. min.
Malouda gets caught offsides -- he should have known it was too good to be true but shoots the ref a look anyhow.

85. min.
Henry breaks into the Italian box. The French are running nearly all their attack through the striker, but he's unable to get a good pass to an open player to give France the lead they are fighting for.

86. min.
Italy make final change
Camoranesi leaves for Alessandro Del Piero.

87. min.
Del Piero stood alone in front of Barthez and missed twice the last time the teams met. Will he get a chance to correct his mistake?

88. min.
Diarra fouls Toni, but neither player really believes the call -- though Toni is happy to accept it.

89. min.
Iaquinta tries to trap down a long, looping ball out of the midfield but is sandwiched between two defenders and Barthez collects the ball.

90. min.
Two more minutes of stoppage time


90+2. min.
Extra time in Berlin
A prolonged attack from the French ends with Buffon catching the ball. France look fresher than the Italians for the moment -- could Italy be trying to fool the Frenchman into tiring themselves out? We'll find out in the next 30 minutes.

90+2. min.
The players take in some water and get massages on the field before extra time begins. What nugget of advice do the two coaches have for their tired players?

90+2. min.
Italy started their extra time in the semi-final against Germany with two quick chances and then went on to beat the Germans by two goal. But then they still had subs to mix up the play. Now Lippi is out of chances to change.

91. min.
France get the first half of extra time started.

92. min.
Once here, once there
The Italians have yet to touch the ball, but the French have yet to do anything productive with it. The probes to the right end with a pass back to midfield as do the tries that go to the left.

93. min.
Malouda collects the ball at midfield and carries it all the way down the line, beating a slew of defenders and winning a corner kick. Zidane send the ball to the near psost where it is cleared for a French throw in.

95. min.
The French have only made one change so far for the injured Vieira. Are there any subs going through Domenech's mind?

96. min.
Malouda nutmegs Cannavaro and Gattuso is hurt from an elbow to the mouth -- but he'd probably rather be missing all his teeth than get called for the penalty he actually committed.

98. min.
All the chances are going France's way at the moment. The Italian team that came out strong against Germany is MIA.

99. min.
Chance for France
Ribery makes room for himself on a break in to the penalty area and gets the best French chance in about 20 minutes, but it goes just wide of the post.

100. min.
Ribery leaves for David Trezeguet
The man who scored the golden goal that sent Italy out of the European Championship in 2000 takes the field.

102. min.
Zidane hits in a long cross to Henry, but Buffon isn't willing to give the striker a chance and cuts off the ball in the air. Not even his long throw forward is enough to get more than three Italians out of their own half.

103. min.
Buffon saves!
Zidane is open in the middle of the penalty box and powers his header toward goal on a cross and it's only Buffon's cat-like reactions that are able to get the ball slapped over the crossbar.

105. min.
Henry sprints down the wing to pull in a ball in the final play of the extra time half but two defenders get the better of him. Henry is the only man on the field who doesn't look like he's been running for 105 minutes straight.

105. min.
Lippi and Domenech try to motivate the last bits of energy out of their players as they take a drink.

106. min.
The last 15 minutes left between Italy and France have begun.

106. min.
De Rossi gets caught in the face by Malouda's elbow and needs treatment.

107. min.
France change again
Henry comes off for Sylvian Wiltord.

108. min.
The changes are complete these are the 22 men who will finish the 2006 World Cup to its end.

109. min.
Trezeguet is having words with a gaggle of Italians after Zidane slammed his head into Materazzi's chest -- the ref didn't see possibly the most unsportsmanlike act of this World Cup.

110. min.
But a linesman saw it
And Zidane is tossed out of the game for good reason.

111. min.
Materazzi had some words for Zidane before getting the Frenchman's bald head to the chest, but there's nothing that could have warranted the foul.

112. min.
Next in line
Malouda gets a yellow card for complaining.

114. min.
The game has been all but destroyed. There's no flow left as the ball spends more time being cleared from one end to the other rather than in front of a player's foot.

116. min.
Grosso dribbles the ball toward the French goal and his teammates see the chance coming and crash in for a chance at eternal glory -- but Grosso's pass goes in the wrong direction and they have to hurry back into position.

117. min.
Call the Italian bench
Any Italian fans in the stadium with a cell phone would be excused for trying to call the Lippi if they had his number. Apparently no one has told him or his team that they are up a player and should start attacking.

120. min.
Trezeguet tries to live up to his reputation as an Italian dream killer but can't connect with a long pass and misses a late opportunity for the French.

122. min.
That's it in Berlin
Penalty kicks will decide the winner in the World Cup final.

Bad memories
For the second time in the history of the World Cup the final will be decided by spot kicks. Italy were there the first time, too. That was 1994 when Roberto Baggio put his famous shot over the bar to give Brazil the title.

Now it's up to Buffon and Barthez to get a hand, foot or leg or arm on any shot and become national heroes.

The shooters meanwhile need to sink their shots to avoid everlasting shame.

The rules are explained to men who already know them and Italy line up the first shot.

Andrea Pirlo calmly shoots into the back of the net.

Sylvain Wiltord comes up for France.

And the Frenchman gets Buffon going the wrong way as he fires his shot into the lower corner.

Materazzi, who was involved in both of the game's goals, takes his time against Barthez before shooting the ball past him.

Trezeguet is next for France.

Off the crossbar! Trezeguet's shot is blocked by the aluminum.

De Rossi goes to the upper corner and beat the diving Barthez who picked the correct side.

Abidal meets the pressure on him and converts his PK.

It's Del Piero's turn.

And Del Piero scores too. The pressure is on France now.

Sagnol needs to score


And he hammers it home under pressure


Fabio Grosso steps up.

ITALY WIN THE WORLD CUP!
Grosso is the new national hero!

Change the books
One missed penalty makes all the difference between celebration and tears in Berlin. Italy have turned around their pathetic penalty kick record in the grandest fashion imaginable by claiming the championship.

The Italians are dancing around the field to salute their fans while the French wait for their silver medals with downcast looks of utter disappointment.

A look on the field now and no one would believe that any of the Italian players just ran for two hours. Known for his pony tail, Italy's Camoranesi loses the long locks of hair to a teammate with scissors and is happy to trade the hair for the Cup.

The medals are about to be awarded
The French and Italian players will receive their honors for reaching the World Cup final, though Zidane can't be found among the crowd of players and right now no one in Italy is thinking about the match fixing scandal that has wracked the Serie A.

A few last moments of suffering for the French before they'll be able to leave the field while the Italians savor every moment in front of their fans.

Thank you for keeping up with the 2006 World Cup final here at DW-WORLD.DE. We hope you'll be back to get all the reactions from around the world after the game at www.dw-world.de/worldcup.