World Cup Game 1: Germany controls Costa Rica
Host Germany avoided the fate of other first-game favorites by dominating Costa Rica, 4-2, in a game that saw Alexandre Guimaraes’ men benefit from two suspect onsides calls to keep within striking distance.
Lateral Philip Lahm was the man of the match, scoring the tournament’s first goal while generally creating havoc for the Costa Rican defense. Miroslav Klose scored twice for the hosts, while midfielder Torsten Frings struck from 35 yards out on a brilliant goal to close out the scoring.
Former Manchester City man Paulo Wanchope twice finished strongly on goals that could have easily been called back for offsides, replays showed.
For Germany, the game showed two things. One, that as the hosts, they must be considered as much a favorite as Brazil. However, the second thing is that it appears the Germans don’t have the team speed to match the Brazilians, or other quick teams like Argentina.
–WKW