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The summer of 2006 was meant to be England’s moment. With David Beckham as captain, Wayne Rooney, the prodigious young star, Rio Ferdinand anchoring a world-class defence and Sven-Goran Eriksson leading England into his third World Cup, belief was everywhere. In an era when celebrity culture was exploding, the hype was relentless. From packed pubs to front-page headlines, the tournament became a shared national obsession. So why did England’s World Cup dream end in on-field agony and off-field acrimony?

Through the voices of those at the heart of it, this landmark documentary revisits a World Cup that still provokes disbelief and debate. Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, Ashley Cole, Owen Hargreaves and goalkeeper Paul Robinson reflect on the pressure they faced and why a star-studded squad unravelled on football’s biggest stage.

In Germany, football collided with fame, Baden-Baden became party central, and the England camp lived under unprecedented scrutiny. Assistant manager Steve McClaren, chief WAG Nancy Dell’Olio and showbusiness reporters reveal how celebrity access, tabloid proximity and off-field distraction – driven by the attention on figures such as Victoria Beckham, Cheryl Cole, Coleen Rooney and Abbey Clancy – seeped into daily life, altering the mood inside the camp and intensifying pressure on players already struggling to perform.

On the pitch, selection controversies and tactical uncertainty fuelled mounting tension. Rooney speaks candidly about his injury battles, his red card and that infamous wink from Cristiano Ronaldo – a moment that came to symbolise England’s growing sense that control was slipping away. Ferdinand and Cole describe how club cliques and fractured relationships further eroded unity when it mattered most.

This documentary captures the moment when football, fame and the media collided, and asks why England’s most gifted collection of players could never live up to the name. From Baden-Baden’s bars to Rooney’s red mist, this is the story of one of England’s most memorable World Cups – for all the wrong reasons.