Germany wins World Cup opener

I tedeschi festeggiano l'esordio vincente contro il Costarica (4-2) nella partita inaugurale più ricca di goal che si ricordi. Difficile però non rimarcare una imbarazzante difesa messa in difficoltà dal solitario Wanchope. Tabellino e altri commenti

"In an exciting opening World Cup match, Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2. Strong up front, the home side will be worried about its still shaky defending. Germany's national team managed to win its first World Cup match on Friday, downing underdogs Costa Rica in a opener that certainly won't assuage fears of fans from the host nation. Any early goal by Germany's Philipp Lahm in the sixth minute shook the Latin Americans and the German squad clearly was hoping an early storm would overwhelm their opponents. But after quickly regrouping, the Ticos equalized following a strike by Paolo Wanchope only six minutes later. It was by now a familiar scene for Germany's young and often unsteady defense, as a speedy Wanchope sprinted past the back line to coolly shoot the ball past the totally helpless keeper Jens Lehmann. The Germans didn't let themselves be put off balance by the soccer minnows and after a furious combination in the 17th minute they regained their lead through Miroslav Klose, who had the simple task of rolling the ball into an unguarded net after Bastian Schweinsteiger shot into his path. Klose gave the hosts the breathing space they craved when he struck his second goal on 61 minutes, looping the ball into the net after his initial header was saved. But while Germany looked dangerous going forward their defense looked uncertain. Wanchope pulled one back in the 73rd minute in a goal that looked offside in the replay, as the German defense crumbled again. But that did not stop the hosts pouring forward and Torsten Frings scored six minutes from time with a great strike from distance. The six goals were a record for an opening match"

Spiegel Online (Germania).