Costa Rica World Cup 2006 News and Odds

Germany beat Costa Rica in World Cup opener

MUNICH, Jun 9 (SW) - Germany have won the opening match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, beating Costa Rica 4-2 with goals from Phillip Lahm, Miroslav Klose and Torsten Frings.After a minute of silence, in order to remember football legends that passed away in recent years, Paulo Wanchope kicked off to officially open the 2006 World Cup.The first good chance was for Germany in the 4th minute. Podolski passed the ball to Frings, who struck just over the crossbar from thirty meters.1-0 Phillip Lahm 6th minuteBut two minutes later, Klinsmann's side did open the score. Defender Phillip Lahm's diagonal shot from the left side beautifully curved into the top right corner, beating goalkeeper Porras.Lahm succeeds Senegalese player Papa Bouba Diop as opening goalscorer of a FIFA World Cup.Not much later, the hosts almost scored their second goal as Costa Rica continued to make mistakes. Miroslav Klose was only just stopped by the goalkeeper.1-1 Paulo Wanchope 12th minuteBut while Germany attempted to increase the gap, Costa Rica did the opposite by scoring for 1-1. A through ball from Centeno was received by Wanchope, who did well to beat Lehmann and level the score.The Germans called for off-side but the linesman was correct to keep his flag low.2-1 Miroslav Klose 17th minuteHowever, the match continued to be exciting as Germany soon restored their lead. Bastian Schweinsteiger beat the Costa Rican defense with a pass to striker Klose, who could easily score from close range.Germany goalkeeper Jens Lehmann, picked over Oliver Kahn to guard his side's goal, needed treatment on his foot but was able to continue.In the 22nd minute, Podolski tried a shot on goal but the Porras blocked, after which the ball was cleared by a defender.Wanchope impressed in the 29th minute, getting past two German defenders before finally being stopped by another.The first yellow card of the tournament went to Danny Fonseca, following a foul on Podolski on the half hour mark.After the hectic opening phase, things slowed down a bit at the Allianz-Arena and the clock slowly crawled towards half time.A foul from Sequeira on Schweinsteiger in the 40th minute earned the Bayern Munich midfielder a free kick, which was struck over the bar by Podolski.A corner from Schweinsteiger went right through Costa Rica's defense in the 43rd minute, but Christoph Metzelder failed to take advantage and his attempt did not go anywhere near Porras' goal.Second halfThree minutes after the break, Costa Rica had a corner and Fonseca had a good opportunity to head on goal, but his attempt went well wide.3-1 Miroslav Klose 61st minuteBut in the 61st minute, the Germans set the score to 3-1. Miroslav Klose's effort after a Lahm cross was first saved by the goalkeeper, but the striker then took advantage in the rebound from close range.Costa Rica coach Alexandre Guimaraes was first to make changes, replacing Gilberto Martinez with Jervis Drummond.Not much later, Klinsmann replied by taking off Tim Borowski for Sebastian Kehl.3-2 Paulo Wanchope 74th minuteIn the 74th minute, Costa Rica got a goal back as Centeno once again found Wanchope, who scored for 3-2. Again, the Germans called for off-side and this time the linesman's decision appeared to be more controversial.Miroslav Klose, who scored two of Germany's goals, was substituted for Oliver Neuville in the 79th minute. Recently, the experienced Neuville had been showing an impressive performance.Per Mertesacker was close to restoring the gap for the Germans in the 80th minute, but Porras did well to save and avoid conceding a fourth goal.4-2 Torsten Frings 87th minuteWhile Germany was holding its breath in fear of a late equalizer, Torsten Frings decided the match with a beautiful distance shot for 4-2 in the 87th minute.The goal also meant a new record, as it had not happened before that six goals were scored in a FIFA World Cup opening match.Not much happened in the final minutes, and Germany earned their first three points of the tournament with a 4-2 win over Costa Rica.


MUNICH, - Costa Rica defender Gilberto Martínez will not be participating in any other matches at this World Cup as result of an injury suffered against Germany.In the opening match on Friday, the player injured his knee and was replaced with Jervis Drummond in the 61st minute.The 26-year-old has returned to his club, Brescia in Italy, to begin his recovery.

Hosting this year the most important soccer tournament around the world, Germany leads Group A. An old school team as Poland, form the old country; one Commebol representative, Ecuador, and from Concacaf, Costa Rica.

Sportsbooks odds give Germany most of the chances to pass to round 2 on top after that, Poland and Ecuador are the one’s that could fight for that second place. Even though, nothing is written, more than 90 minutes of good soccer is coming ahead and Germany is the big favorite in his group.



Preliminaries from all coaches, showed that among the group the lineup formation most likely to be play is the 4-4-2 formation. Klinsmann, used a 4-3-3 line-up and went back to the usual one after seeing that his squad responded with excellence under this formation. The opening game will be play with a 4-4-2 system in both teams curiously and an exciting game to watch and bet on.

Among the group, lack of aerial soccer and defensive effectiveness are flaws the “Ticos” have. Polish players’ height is something that could give them the advantage and something Costa Rica should worry about. Poland going forward is much better than defending, this becoming the key if the Ticos and Ecuador want to neutralize this squad.

The South American squad is highly concentrated in the same way as Costa Rica in looking forward on the aerial game but much more in the last defensive third of field. Coach Luis Fernando Suarez said he is aware of that and is focusing on that aspect to take advantage of other teams’ flaws.

On June 9th, two games from this group will take place. That group is on the watch of sports betting fans all around the world and their specific challenges and skills are the opening attraction in this tournament. We can’t miss it.

The Czech national soccer team beat Costa Rica 1-0 in a friendly match played Tuesday, shortly ahead of the World Cup in Germany.
The only goal was scored by striker Vratislav Lokvenc in the 82nd minute.
The Czech team will play the last friendly ahead of the World Cup against Trinidad and Tobago
on Saturday.
Line-ups:

Czech Republic: Blazek - Jiranek (46. Grygera), Kovac, Rozehnal, Mares (46. Jankulovski) - Jarolim (46. Poborsky), Polak (46. Sionko) , Heinz, Plasil - Stajner (46. Baros), Koller (71. Lokvenc). Coach: Brueckner.

Costa Rica: Mesen - Martinez (67. Drummond), Umana, Sequeira, Marin - Fonseca, Solis (67. Azofeifa), Centeno (78. Bolanos), Gonzalez (67. Badilla) - Wanchope (87. Bernard), Gomez (78. Nunez).Coach: Guimaraes.

Costa Rica coach Alexandre Borges Guimaraes says his team would try to emulate his team's performance in Italy 1990 at the 2006 World Cup in Germany."This World Cup is a very good opportunity for us, to the national team, because we have almost the same players that we have in the last World Cup in Korea-Japan and we are trying to emulate what we did in Italy 1990," said Guimaraes.

Brazil-born Guimaraes moved to Costa Rican at the age of eleven to become one of the most loved football figures in Costa Rica's history. Making the national squad as a player, he played a pivotal role in the Costa Rican's 1990 World Cup crusade. He was made the coach for the 2006 team following the deposition of coach Horge Luis Pinto.Pinto's tenure saw a string of poor performances from the Costa Ricans and at one time they looked like they would not even qualify for the World Cup. But with Guimaraes at the helm, Costa Rica went on to defeat Guatemala, Panama, Trinidad & Tobago and the US at home to secure a berth in Germany, finishing with five wins, a draw and four losses.

By Graham Harvey
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

America loves “World Champions”.

Baseball has “The World Classic”, NFL crowns its version at the Superbowl, and the NBA finds theirs after a grueling season.However, this summer all these “local” events fade into insignificance when you realize that every country on this planet will be talking about, reading, and watching “THE World Cup” – no exceptions!

It’s taken time for a country that exports its culture to import the World’s favorite game. Even in 1994, those “funny men” running on grass in “silk pyjamas” did not catch John Doe’s imagination in America’s heartland.So what’s all the fuss about every four years when the world goes crazy and falls into a footballing trance while America carries on with their summer sports?Well, “The World Cup” embodies more than a team trying to win. Footballers transform into “warriors” – national heroes – and the football pitch becomes more than a piece of turf, it’s a battleground for global supremacy.The World Cup is the only event where a team represents a country and 100% of its population gets behind them and lives every kick, breathes every goal, and cries at every defeat.As one famous British manager once told a reporter, "Someone said 'football is more important than life and death to you' and I said 'Listen, it's more important than that'."

Footballers have been shot dead for missing penalties, and two nations went to war over a football match (El Salvador and Honduras).It’s the “global game” – that’s why American companies scramble to push their products into every country via this competition. Look at Coca-Cola, Yahoo, and McDonalds – as you guys say, “They’ve got game!”So, who’s going to win?Of course, being English – you would think I would say England. But sadly, after “our” coach (well – he is Swedish really) got caught out by a number of faux pas like having close bedtime relations with an FA secretary (who also had intimate relationships with other high ranking members) who spilled the beans to a “fake Sheikh” in Dubai about the team and then had “secret” meetings (well, secret enough that Britain’s famous media hounds snapped photos of Sven going into these “secret” meetings) with top domestic clubs.You can see why your average “Brit” thinks Sven’s mind is not focused on the Cup.In fact, after all these little snags, the FA decided to wish him “Good luck and goodbye”.

Now, in your job – if your company says, “we’ve got a major launch happening and then you’re fired after it”, are you actually going to go the “Whole Ten Yards?” Not likely.In fact, the whole footballing world will be packed into one nation. Deals will be done for players, and it is not against the realms of reality that while Sven is thinking about where he will be in August, his agent will be on the mobile phone talking to rich European clubs about Sven’s future employment.Now, what would you rather focus on – an employer’s ultimate dream after already firing you or a shiny new multi-million dollar contract with one of Europe’s richest clubs? Go figure!For the duration of the World Cup, teams take over hotels and make them secure camps. So, within this secure zone, if you see Sven on the practice pitch or walking around the hotel with his mobile close by – it could be suggested that he is not waiting for Nancy (his other half) to call him to update him on missed episodes of “Lost” or “Desperate Housewives”!So who can win the Cup? Well, obviously it would be boring to say “Brazil”. But sadly, the talent within the side is amazing and a repeat of 2002 Japan’s victory is on the cards.What about another European challenge? Well, everyone knows Italy has a great footballing history. However, the sport is in crisis – it’s so bad that Sven talking to another football club about joining them whilst under contract with the FA – is small fry when you consider what has surfaced in Italy.OK, think about this and I’ll put it in American sporting terms. Of course, before any American lawyers start firing off writs to me – I am not saying that any of the following could or would happen in the NFL.

But consider what the outcry would be if the New England Patriots were stripped of their two Superbowl titles. Or if the owner, Robert Kraft, dictated who the on-field umpires would be for all their matches. Or picture the Patriots’ owner locking umpires in their dressing rooms after a game because they didn’t give “favourable” decisions, the owner’s son running the most influential sports agency in NFL, and this same man dictating who gets bought and sold within the whole NFL community. What would happen if the Pats’ leading QB admits to gambling on NFL matches although it is banned? Then the NFL chief commissioner resigns, and to cap it all George “Dubya” Bush takes some time off from his “crusade” in the Middle East to appoint a new commissioner to oversee the “damaged” sport.This scenario is exactly what has happened in the past month in Italy. The Azzuri are truly “blue” and the dark cloud of corruption hangs over the Italian dream – there’s too much baggage being taken to Germany.So, if you discard England and Italy – two of the favourites – where are the dark horses to run against the thoroughbred Brazilians? Holland and Spain usually turn up, and when everyone thinks they’ll be the “belles of the ball” – they trip up on the global dance floor and never see it out to the end. France are always a side that oozes class.

Thierry Henry is in his prime, Gallas and many other EPL stars are at their peak – but can eleven stars gel into one cohesive unit? Germany for a month will tell.The minnows always have no chance. Sorry Trinidad & Tobago, Saudi Arabia et al.The winner is easy to predict – it is always the football fan that feasts on this extravaganza. The team that lifts the trophy – well – you always want a pundit to give his opinion and take a good stance. I apologise, but yes, I am realistic and yes, I know my football and yes, I want to be next to a young nubile Brazilian girl when they lift The World Cup on July 9th, 2006!

Costa Rica coach Alexandre Guimaraes says he is targeting progression from the group stages of the World Cup.
Citing their excellent showing in Italy in 1990, Guimaraes believes there is no reason why his team cannot make the second round this time of asking.


He said: "We see ourselves on the same level as the other teams. We are not just concentrating on these three games but on the ones that will come after.''
In Italia '90 Costa Rica saw off Scotland and Sweden to qualify from their group and many of the current crop of players are hoping to aspire to that feat.
Costa Rica midfielder Mauricio Solis said: "We hope we can repeat the success of 1990."

The Ticos will be spending May 9-15 in Paradisus Playa Conchal, a super luxurious tourist complex on the Pacific. They will have at their disposal a “deluxe” football field with night illumination, golf and tennis courts and other entertainment activities for when they are not engaged in rigorious physical fitness routines. Thus fortified, they will fly to Germany on May 16th to continue their preparation.

Costa Rica is a small country located in Central America; the National team has gone only to three final stages of the World Cup competition. Their first appearance was in the 1990 edition in Italy were they gave a good surprise advancing to the second round over countries like Scotland and Sweden; their second participation was in Korea/Japan in 2002 where they couldn’t pass to the second round but they were in a very difficult group with Brazil and the improves and Turkey that was the last team that cut their advance to the second round.
For this year edition they will be in the inaugural game against Germany, a game that’s expected to have the attention of all the soccer fans around the world, something that puts extra pressure on Costa Rica to give a good performance in the game.
They are in Group A of this competition and besides Germany they will have to face Poland and Ecuador; many experts believe that Germany already has a secured spot in the second round of the competition. Second place will be among these three other teams, whichever is the best of them will get the second ticket for the next round.
Despite of a difficult qualifying campaign, it would be a serious mistake to write off Costa Rica. The current team is every bit as talented as those of previous years and just as determined to cause an upset in the finals.
Costa Rica fans around the world will be able to enjoy the fearless defending of Gilberto Martinez, the bravery of Walter Centeno and, of course, the goal-scoring prowess of their biggest star, Paulo Wanchope. The veteran striker, who will be retiring from international football after the finals, is hoping to inspire his side to a performance at least on a par with that of Italy 90.
The Costa Rican National Team presented recently their provisional squad for this year FIFA World Cup: Wardy Alfaro, Jose Porras, Gabriel Badilla, Alvaro Mesen, Adrian de Lemos, Gilberto Martinez, Roy Miller, Luis Marin, Michael Rodriguez, Harold Wallace, Cristian Montero, Jervis Drummond, Douglas Sequeira, Carlos Johnson, Leonardo Gonzalez , Michael Umana, Carlos Hernandez, Walter Centeno, Christian Bolaños, Randall Azofeifa, Mauricio Solis, Danny Fonseca, Bryan Ruiz, Ronald Gomez, Alvaro Saborio, Victor Nunez, Kurt Bernard and Paulo Wanchope.

On June ninth will start the most popular sports tournament in the world, yes it’s the FIFA Soccer World Cup. The inaugural game features Costa Rica versus this year host Germany.

Clearly, the favorite to win this game is Germany; they’re the home team and historically and statistically are a better team than Costa Rica, but also there’s a fact that we have to take in consideration; in some World Cups the inaugural game has been won by the underdog. To quote some examples in Italy 1990 the inaugural game between Argentina and Cameroon, it was won by the unknown African team; also in Korea/Japan the first game between the world champion at the time France and Senegal, was also won by the African squad.

So there it is its maybe the pressure for the favorite or the quest for greatness from the underdog. But there are definitely some factors that make these games go in unexpected directions sometimes and the best part nobody knows for sure what these factors are.

The Germany squad will come out for this game with all the best players they have, they won’t let anybody out, and they’ll try to win this game at all costs because there’s too much pressure on them.

O the other side Costa Rica might be considered as the Cinderella of this game. The team and the country are very positive towards the first participation of Costa Rica in the inaugural game of the FIFA World Cup. They will have a lot of pressure, all eyes will be on them on the inaugural day, plus they have to match one of the best teams in the world. Believe me all the Costarrican players are anxious to play this game and they’ll play with all their heart to have a good start in this World Cup that starts uphill for them.