Group A of the 2006 FIFA World Cup was one of eight groups in the opening round of the tournament. The group featured four teams, competition hosts Germany, Costa Rica, Poland and Ecuador. Play began on 9 June with the first game of the tournament between Germany and Costa Rica, with the former attaining a 4–2 victory in the highest scoring opening game in World Cup history since the competition introduced a single game opener. Later the same day, Poland and Ecuador faced each other, with Ecuador winning 2–0. On 14 June, Germany secured their second victory of the competition, defeating Poland 1–0 following Oliver Neuville's injury time goal. The following day, Ecuador defeated Costa Rica 3–0 to guarantee both they and Germany would advance to the round of 16.
The final set of matches was played on 20 June 2006. Germany and Ecuador contested the top place in the group, with the hosts winning 3–0. With both sides already eliminated, Poland defeated Costa Rica 2–1 to claim their only victory of the competition. Ecuador were eliminated in the following round by England while Germany reached the semi-finals before being defeated by eventual winners Italy. Germany finished third after beating Portugal in the third place playoff match.