Italy was crowned world cup 2006 winners, Germany hosted the tournament superbly and played some great football on their way to the semi final. But was the standard of football great? I am not sure, the Italians were very strong in defence but are not a brilliant team as highlighted when they struggled to beat nine man USA and were fortunate to beat Australia with a last gasp penalty.If we look at some of the 2006 world cup teams we can see many failed to deliver.ITALY- WinnersOutstanding defence and in Buffon the best goalkeeper in the world as he highlighted with his great save from Zidane in extra time. More attacking formation than normal but no real strikeforce success with Toni failing to emulate his Serie A strike rate.As with most good teams they managed to grind out some results and were very hard to beat. Many of their top players are now reaching their peak, interesting to see how they perform in Euro 2006.FRANCE- Runners upThe veterans of France surprised many by reaching the final. Inspired by Zidane the French eliminated holders Brazil and also defeated Portugal in the semi final.The French were unlucky in the final as for…