June 09, 2006
The Cup Tips!
For a majority of the world, this is one of the biggest sporting days of the past four years - the opening day of the 2006 World Cup. I'm pumped!
There are two games today, host
Germany takes on Costa Rica at noon and Poland faces Ecuador at 3 (EST).
Having the host team open things up is a new tradition. In years past, the defending champion got the honor. They may have stopped that after France was knocked off in their first game in 2002. Germany of course is a traditional soccer power, but they've slipped since the last World Cup. But, they are the home squad and the host nation tends to do well in these large competitions. Costa Rica qualified third out of the United State's qualifying group, CONCACAF and probably was picked to face the Germans first because most expect the Ticos to lose. But don't sleep on them. Costa Rica is not a bad team and nearly advanced to the knockout round in 2002.
In the other matchup, Poland is a slight favorite against the South American squad. The knock on Ecuador is that the can only win when they are at high elevation like in their home stadium in Quito. Ecuador has not fared well in recent friendlies, going 0-3-1 in their last four. Look for Poland to take advantage of a likely friendly crowd and get the win.
Germany on the board in the sixth minute with one of the prettiest shots you'll ever see. The first goal of the 2006 World Cup may be the best one in the tourney. It was a hard shot to the upper right corner, almost grazing the crossbar and banking off the right post. The goalie had no chance.
The Ticos tied it up just 7 minutes later after a mistimed offsides trap by the Germans. I though it was offsides when I saw it live, but the replay proved that it was legit.
And then 5 minutes later, the Germans went back in front. 2-1 at the half. Hope the whole World Cup is this exciting!
4-2 win for the home squad in the first WC tilt. If this is indicative of the offense we're going to see in this tournament, it's going to be damn exciting.
BrightCar Car Maintenance Software - Software To Manage Your Car Maintenance Schedule
