Germany win despite dodgy defending By MSN's Matt Ball
Last updated June 10 2006
The first game at the World Cup is often a tense, dull affair but Friday's match between Germany and Costa Rica was more open and exciting than we could have hoped for.
England fans would probably quip that Germany are more used to losing World Cup matches 4-2 than winning them but the hosts rightly came out on top.
The BBC commentators also supplied two sublime pieces of punditry.
How happy German manager Jurgen Klinsmann will be with his defenders is another matter.
Here are the key moments:
Start of the match: German superstar midfielder Michael Ballack is not in the team due to injury.
5 mins: German full-back Lahm fires an unstoppable shot into the top corner. A great start. Germany 1-0 Costa Rica
12 mins: Costa Rica striker Paulo Wanchope sneaks through, just onside due to poor defending, to level with a precise finish. Germany 1-1 Costa Rica
17 mins: After a neat move by Germany Miroslav Klose scores from close range. Germany 2-1 Costa Rica
Half-time: BBC pundit Alan Shearer says: "One thing for me is the number of people who are taking long-range shots, particularly from outside the box." Er, yes, Al, that is where long-range shots are taken from.
48 mins: It's a corner. Costa Rica should score from a free header from 12 yards as the German defenders go missing again but somehow they do not. It is a miss they will come to regret.
61 mins: Lahm has plenty of time to send over a cross from the left. Klose heads goalwards, the keeper saves but Klose sticks in the rebound. Germany 3-1 Costa Rica
73 mins: Paulo Wanchope, again played onside by Germany's sluggish defence, finishes neatly with the outside of his right foot. Germany 3-2 Costa Rica
74 mins: What is BBC co-commentator Mark Lawrenson talking about? Jonathan Pearce says: "You know, Paulo Wanchope once had a trial at QPR but was deemed not good enough but he played basketball for Costa Rica and had a scholarship to play basketball in America." Lawrenson replies: "The perfect man to take to a barbeque."
87 mins: German midfielder Torsten Frings takes a long-range shot from 30 yards (Alan Shearer please note: it was from outside the box) which swerves into the corner beyond the reach of the keeper. Lovely goal. Germany 4-2 Costa Rica
92 mins: Costa Rica make a substitution. Could this make a crucial difference and turn the game? No. The player comes onto the pitch but does not touch the ball because the referee signals a few seconds later for the end of the game. Why did they bother?
Suggested tabloid headline: Never mind the Ballack, Frings can only get better.
Ecuador get vital victory
What the Poland vs Ecuador match lacked in excitement it made up for in ITV cliched punditry.
First up is Gabby Logan, sporting a Jennifer Aniston-style hairdo, referring to the fans outside the stadium creating "a carnival atmosphere".
Next is Gareth Southgate who is quickest off the mark to point out how difficult some of the Polish names are to pronounce.
Not to be outdone Clive Tyldesley suggests that "the opening stages of the World Cup are rather like an epiosde of Blind Date". Whatever that means.
As for the match, Ecuador, after a sluggish start, caught Poland napping with a well-executed long throw-in routine allowing Tenorio to score after 21 minutes.
Poland played better in the second half but were denied by dogged Ecuadorian defending. The Poles will be disappointed by their poor crossing and corners which let them down as they pushed for an equaliser. Delgado settled matters when he slotted home the South Americans' second on 80 minutes.
Poland hit the post twice in the final few minutes but in the end came up well short.
Suggested tabloid headline: Double trouble for pole-axed Poles
Verdict: From what we have seen so far it is fair to say that the winner of the World Cup will not come from Group A. This should be good news for England fans because their team will meet a team from Group A in the last 16 (assuming qualification). | 
