Previous Encounters:
Germany and Costa Rica had never met before the Germany 2006 World Cup Finals.
The Match
We heard goalkeepers moaning about Teamgeist, the new World Cup ball
from German sports company, Adidas before the 2006 World Cup Finals had even begun; but if
the tournament continues in the vein of this classic opening game, then fans around the
world are in for a World Cup goal bonanza.
Six goals and not all of them by Germany, what more can you ask for?
The 2006 World Cup Finals tournament was officially declared open at
16.52 Berlin time (just over an hour before the opening game) and after a minute's silence
in Munich, in memory of all the footballers who died this year, Costa Rica kicked off.
Germany got themselves off to the perfect start with a beautiful
strike from Philip Lahm, just 5 minutes and 9 seconds after Horacio Elizondo of Argentina
blew the whistle for the game to commence.
Or so they thought.
Within seven minutes, Paulo Wanchope had equalised for Costa Rica;
game on.
It didn't take long for Germany to get back on top, as Bernd Schneider
ran the ball down towards the right corner flag and pulled it back for Bastian
Schweinsteiger; who looked up as he moved forward and when the moment was right, passed
across the penalty area for Birthday Boy, Miroslav Klose to tap in his 6th World Cup
Finals goal at the far post.
Half-time: (2:1).
With 61 minutes on the clock, Miroslav Klose watched as his header,
from Philip Lahm's cross, was saved but followed up swiftly to score his second goal of
the game and put Germany almost out of reach (3:1).
Costa Rica didn't read the script though and on 73 minutes Paulo
Wanchope hovered on a line with the last German defenders, then ran onto a through ball
and managed to flick the ball past Jens Lehmann; as Arne Friedrich tried to slide in
between them (3:2).
As if this wasn't enough for fans of open football, and boy were these
teams open, the finale came with five minutes left to play.
I know, I know.... it would have been nice for the Ticos to equalise
in this classic but in fairness they didn't really deserve it.
Instead, the home nation extended their lead yet again shortly after
Bastian Schweinsteiger squared a free-kick across to Torsten Frings.
The Werder Bremen midfielder scored his eight goal for Germany with a
screamer, straight through the centre of the packed Costa Rica penalty area; for what will
already be up there as a candidate for 'Goal of The Tournament'.
And what a way to start the 2006 World Cup Finals. This new ball has
brought World Cup Football to life with a vengeance.
Final Score:
Germany 4 - Costa Rica 2
Goalscorers:
1:0 Philip Lahm (6)
1:1 Paulo Wanchope (12)
2:1 Miroslav Klose (17)
3:1 Miroslav Klose (61)
3:2 Paulo Wanchope (73)
4:2 Torsten Frings (87)
Our Man of The Match:
We would like to give the first award of the 2006 World Cup Finals to Miroslav Klose,
because it's his birthday, but I think it should really go to Teamgeist; for the six goals
that get the tournament off to a roaring start.
Teams
Germany: (Captain Bernd Schneider)
1 Jens Lehmann; 3 Arne Friedrich, 16 Philip Lahm, 17 Per Mertesacker,
21 Christoph Metzelder;7 Bastian Schweinsteiger, 8 Torsten Frings,
18 Tim Borowski, 19 Bernd Schneider; 11 Miroslav Klose, 20 Lukas
Podolski.
Costa Rica: (Captain Luis Marin)
18 Jose Porras; 3 Luis Marin, 4 Michael Umana, 5 Gilberto Martinez, 12 Leonardo Gonzalez;
6 Danny Fonseca, 8 Mauricio Solis, 10 Walter Centeno, 20 Douglas Sequeira; 9 Paulo
Wanchope, 11 Ronald Gomez.
Substitutions:
67 Mins (Costa Rica) - 2 Jervis Drummond on for 5 Gilberto Martinez
72 Mins (Germany) - 5 Sebastian Kehl on for 18 Tim Borowski
78 Mins (Costa Rica) - 7 Cristian Bolanos on for 8 Mauricio Solis
79 Mins (Germany) - 10 Oliver Neuville on for 11 Miroslav Klose
90 Mins (Costa Rica) - 14 Randall Azofeifa on for 11 Ronald Gomez
90 Mins (Germany) - 22 David Odonkor on for 19 Bernd Schneider
1 Yellow
Card:
31 Mins - Danny Fonseca (Costa Rica)
