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In the first World Cup match today (Friday), the championship hosts Germany will meet Costa Rica. The Germans are considered favorites, but their shaky performance in preparation for the championship is causing some concern for the team's fans. The representatives of Central America, the Costa Rican team, are not very well known to European opponents, so they could surprise many in this match.
Germany - Costa Rica Match start: 19:00 (Lithuanian time) Referee: Horacio Elizondo (Argentina)
Facts and statistics
Head-to-head matches: So far, these teams have never played against each other in a match. Germany has never lost to teams from the CONCACAF region.
Facts about the teams:
Germany: Germany has only lost once in the first 15 World Cup matches. In 1982, they were defeated by Algeria, but still managed to reach the final. The hosts of the World Cup have never lost their first match (13 wins, 5 draws). Germany has played the opening World Cup matches three times. In 1938, they drew 1-1 with Switzerland. In 1978, another draw, this time 0-0 against Poland. In 1994, they managed to beat Bolivia 1-0, with the goal scored by the current national team coach, Jurgen Klinsmann. By the way, Klinsmann is one of two coaches in this championship who became World Champions as players. The other coach is Ricardo LaVolpe, who coaches the Mexican national team. Klinsmann became a champion while playing for the former West Germany national team.
Costa Rica: This World Cup is Costa Rica's third, after attempts to win the title in 1990 and 2002. Team coach Alexandre Guimaraes was a player in the national team in 1990, entering the field three times as a substitute.
Injured players:
Germany will miss the team captain and symbol, Michael Ballack.
The new member of the Chelsea team pulled a muscle in his thigh on June 2nd, in a match against the Colombian national team, and has been training according to a special program since then. Ballack's absence is a big blow for Germany, as he is arguably the only world-class star in the national team. Although the player started training on Wednesday, he withdrew from it earlier than expected. National team coach Klinsmann's policy is not to allow any player who is not fully fit to play for at least 48 hours before the start of the match. So we won't see the team captain in this match.
In place of Ballack, Klinsmann is expected to send Tim Borowski into the field.
Costa Rica's forward Paulo Wanchope is struggling with knee problems and is training on a special regimen. Gilberto Martinez, Alvaro Mesenas, and Michael Umana are also under the care of the national team doctors.
Opinions:
Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann:
Klinsmann believes that winning the first World Cup match is crucial.
"It's very important to start the championship well, as we are the hosts."
"We will try to gain the trust of the fans by playing well in the first match. The team would undoubtedly gain confidence in their abilities."
"The result doesn't necessarily have to be 4-1, like in 1990 when we defeated Yugoslavia. The most important thing is to win three points."
The coach promised that the team will play with determination.
"Fans will see the team playing with all their might."
"Mistakes are part of the game, but we will try to avoid them as much as we can. We have a group of people supporting each other. Team spirit is good, and that's the most important thing."
Costa Rica coach Alexandre Guimaraes
Guimaraes warned the German media not to underestimate his players' chances in the match against the Germans.
"We have qualified for the second consecutive World Cup."
"Knowing that, as is often said, the German press should not spit in the air."
"We are not bothered by what is said about us. We only care about performing well in the World Cup, which is why we came here."
Costa Rica's assistant coach Eduardo Mendez added that being labeled underdogs could work in their favor.
"We know that Germany will be playing at home. They are the hosts and they have to win."
"So we will try to take advantage of the psychological pressure they will experience. We will go on the field to seek victory."
Team preparation for the World Cup:
Germany
March 1, 2006 Italy 4-1 Germany
Italy crushed Germany. Robert Huth scored a consolation goal.
March 22, 2006 Germany 4-1 USA
In the second half, the Germans played well and easily defeated the US team.
May 27, 2006 Germany 7-0 Luxembourg
Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski, and Oliver Neuville each scored two goals, and Germany won an easy victory.
May 30, 2006 Germany 2-2 Japan
At the end of the match, after goals from Miroslav Klose and Bastian Schweinsteiger, Germany secured a draw.
June 2, 2006 Germany 3-0 Colombia
The victory against Colombia lifted Germany's spirits before the World Cup. Goals were scored by team captain Michael Ballack, Bastian Schweinsteiger, and substitute Tim Borowski.
Costa Rica
March 1, 2006 Iran 3-2 Costa Rica
In the first half, conceding three goals, Costa Rican players recovered after the break and twice managed to beat the opponent's goalkeeper.
May 28, 2006 Ukraine 4-0 Costa Rica
Playing without their main player, Andriy Shevchenko, the Ukrainian national team appeared too strong for Costa Rica. They conceded three goals in the first half.
May 30, 2006 Czech Republic 1-0 Costa Rica
The representatives of Central America lost their third consecutive friendly match to the Czech national team.
What to expect in the match:
Preparing for this championship, the German team played quite fluctuating games, but statistically, they are the second best team in World Cup history after Brazil. So it can be assumed that this time the Germans will also perform well, although they do not have many famous and well-known players in the squad.
The Costa Rican coach inspired his team to a series of four victories in the qualifying matches. He warned his opponents not to underestimate his players. Not considered favorites, the Costa Rican team does not feel great psychological pressure, so they could surprise the Germans.
However, it is difficult to expect Germany's failure in the first match. A win would allow them to gain more confidence in their abilities, shake off psychological pressure, and increase their chances of advancing to the next stage. All this leads to the expectation that the World Cup hosts will make every effort, and the Costa Rican team will need something special to resist the favorites in this match.
Expected starting lineups and team tactics:
It is expected that the Germans will start the match using a 4-4-2 tactical scheme and will try to avoid the fate of France in 2002, when the favorites lost the first match.
It is believed that Costa Rica will play with an extra midfielder, using a 3-5-2 tactical scheme and trying to counterattack. The leader of the team's attacks should be Paolo Wanchope.
Germany: Lehmann; Lahm, Nowotny, Mertesacker, Friedrich; Schweinsteiger, Frings, Borowski, Schneider; Podolski, Klose
Costa Rica: Porras; Umana, Marin, Gonzalez; Sequeira, Martinez, Solis, Centeno, Fonseca; Gomez, Wanchope.
