Germany storm to opening win

The Editor — Sat, June 10th 2006

Germany 4 - Costa Rica 2

Germany opened the tournament with a great 4-2 win over Costa Rica. The game belied the tradition of the first game being cagey, with Germany scoring just 5 minutes in.

The German midfield looked smooth, getting the ball wide quickly and causing the Costa Rican’s trouble whenever they did so. Costa Rica struggled against the German energy, but looked dangerous when they were able to get the ball down and play.

Despite the Germans looking in control of the game they were unable to completely shake off their opponents until Frings fantastic late strike.

The new Adidas ball looked a bit lively and some goalkeepers had already suggested and could lead to some embarrassed goalkeepers.

And full marks to the referee for a good, sensible performance. It was a relatively easy game to take charge of, but allowed the game to take centre stage.

Denfensively the Germans looked too flat, too high and too slow. They will require more cover from their midfield against better quality opposition.

Two high quality strikes from Germany showed the new Adidas ball might cause goalkeepers some problems this tournament. Wanchope’s replies for Costa Rica were quality finishes.

Listed in: Competitions, World Cup, Countries, Germany

Comments

Add a comment

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.