Prince Poldi crowned best young player

Considered the great hope of German football, Podolski has strength, pace and a lethal shot. Next season he will play for champions Bayern Munich after moving from Cologne.

The FIFA award is based on a fans poll and the selections from the FIFA Technical Study Group.

Portugal winger Cristiano Ronaldo8217;s antics against England and his simulation trying to gain a penalty in the semi-final against France hindered his chances of winning the award.

Holger Osieck, the head of the TSG and former Germany international Lothar Matthaeus, the patron of the award, said Ronaldo8217;s behaviour at the finals did not help his cause. Osieck said: 8220;Players should be role models and fair play is a consideration. But we have to admit young players are not always mature tactically and they also have difficulties in handling stressful situations.

8220;We want to have decent behaviour 8211; and I admit we were critical of this. We had a number of criteria but we have to admit players of that age do have their weaknessess and are not fully developed.8221;

When asked whether Ronaldo harmed his chances of winning the award, Matthaeus added: 8220;You will never have 100 per cent fair play. Looking at Cristiano Ronaldo he was obviously doing something here. It8217;s not nice and it8217;s not just. He may have accumulated a couple of minus points due to the gesture with England8217;s Wayne Rooney but sometimes you forget what the laws are in the heat of the fight.

8220;Give the young player a break. Give them a chance, remember Maradona scored a goal with the hand of God, that was not fair play and there are many other examples you could quote.8221;

Cristiano Ronaldo incurred the wrath of his Manchester United club mate Rooney during Portugal8217;s quarter final against England when he ran 40 metres to protest to the referee about the incident that led to the striker being sent off. He was then seen on television pictures winking at his bench as Rooney was dismissed.

Mike Collett

Road to Berlin

Italy

Group Stage

Beat Ghana 2-0
This David and Goliath battle did not end like a fairytale for the African debutants and the Italians clinched victory courtesy goals from Andrea Pirlo and substitute Vincenzo Iaquinta.

Drew USA 1-1
Italy8217;s 1-0 lead from an Alberto Gilardino header did not last long as Cristian Zaccardo sent the ball into his own net to grant the Americans an equaliser in a match which saw three players sent off.

Beat Czech Republic 2-0
Marco Materazzi proved a more than able replacement for Alessandro Nesta as he gave the Italians the lead in the 26th minute. Filippo Inzaghi made sure of a second round berth by scoring just three minutes from the end.

Second Round

Beat Australia 1-0
Being a man down proved no hindrance for the Italians as they reached the quarter final via a penalty won by Fabio Grosso in the final minute of extra time. Francesco Totti was given the responsibility of converting the spot-kick and he proved up to the task.

Quarter final

Beat Ukraine 3-0
Cup debutants Ukraine were mercilessly brushed away with one goal from Gianluca Zambrotta and two from Luca Toni sealing their opponent8217;s fate.

Semi-final

Beat Germany 2-0 AET
The Germany dream ended with two goals right at the end of extra time from Fabio Grosso and substitute Alessandro del Piero, who showed he can never be written off.

France

Group Stage

Drew Switzerland 0-0

France8217;s goal drought continued as they failed to break the deadlock against the Swiss in a match which did not see many goal scoring opportunities.

Drew South Korea 1-1

France were just nine minutes away from a much-needed victory when Thierry Henry8217;s first half strike was cancelled out by Park Ji-Sung. A booking for Zinedine Zidane meant that the veteran would miss the next match.

Beat Togo 2-0

Patrick Vieira celebrated his 30th birthday with a right-footed shot straight into the net to give Les Bleus the lead. Thierry Henry doubled the advantage to book a place in the second round.

Second Round

Beat Spain 3-1
The French renaissance continued as David Villa8217;s first half penalty did not prove to be enough for Spain. A Franck Ribery equaliser just before the break restored parity before Patrick Vieira and Zidane wrapped up victory.

Quarter final

Beat Brazil 1-0
An inspirational performance by Zizou and Thierry Henry8217;s 57th minute goal proved to be too much for the defending champions as they were sent packing.

Semi-final

Beat Portugal 1-0
A calmly taken penalty by Zidane set France on the way to Berlin to ensure the midfield maestro would finish his career on the biggest stage of all.

France vs Italy
Head-To-Head Important fixtures
Played: 7, Won: France-3, Italy-3, Draws: 1