The 2006 World Cup played host to plenty of things. A Zinedine Zidane masterclass against Brazil… a Zinedine Zidane moment of madness in the final. Lionel Messi making his bow, Cristiano Ronaldo winking at Wayne Rooney and plenty more.
In a tournament of hot heads though, perhaps Netherlands and Portugal took the biscuit. The Round of 16 clash between the European nations has since been dubbed the Battle of Nuremberg (it was held at the Frankenstadion in the German city) after it broke the record for the most cards shown at any FIFA-administered international tournament.
Those naughty players racked up four reds and 16 yellows in just 90 minutes of football, setting the tone for the Dutch to take their aggravating antics one further four years later, when they attempted to boot the Spanish side off the pitch in the final of the competition.
So we're just looking for the Netherlands side this morning. You've got three minutes to remember the 11 starters and three substitutes who took part in that footballing mad massacre.
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Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.
