Marquette University Athletics
World Cup Blog -- Group A Preview
6/1/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
June 1, 2006
by Stan Anderson
Germany v Costa Rica leads off Group A on opening day and it should prove to be a competitive group. Common sense says to look at the host nation and go with the history of success. Germany has played 87 matches in the World Cup compared to Costa Rica's seven. Unfortunately for Germany, that experience means little with a new manager (Klinsmann).
Costa Rica beat the United States in October 2005, 3-0. But the previous four times -- all in the States -- Costa Rica could not get a win. Costa Rica is a fun side to watch but the will need a bunch from Paulo Wanchope to secure points. Look for Germany, the home side, to get the win on opening day.
The second match of the tournament features Poland v Ecuador. These teams finished 24th (Ecuador) and 25th (Poland) in World Cup 2002. One important thing to consider is how hot Ecuador was during qualifying. Poland is a strong, experienced and resilient side but look for Ecuador to sneak one or two past one of the best keepers around, Jerzy Dudek.
Players to watch in Group A
Germany -- Miroslav Klose (F) and Michael Ballack (M)
Costa Rica - Paulo Wanchope (F) and Cristian Bolanos (F)
Poland - Jerzy Dudek (K) and Maciej Zurawski (F)
Ecuador - Augustin Delgado (F) and Christian Lara (M)
Match to watch in Group A
Germany v Poland, Wednesday June 14, 2:00 CST. This is the second match in group play for both teams and will feature two great keepers and two experienced teams with rich history. Look for Germany to use the crowd to its advantage. KEY: Lukas Podolski is on fire as a goal scorer and he will have extra incentive for this match as he was born in Poland.
Who will advance
This is a fun group with diverse playing styles. Go with experience in this group, Germany and Poland.
Group A Schedule
Fri., June 9 -- GER v CRC -- Munich
Fri., June 9 -- POL v ECU -- Gelsenkirchen
Wed., June 14 -- GER v POL -- Dortmund
Thu., June 15 -- ECU v CRC -- Hamburg
Tue., June 20 -- ECU v GER -- Berlin
Tue., June 20 -- CRC v POL -- Hanover
Personal World Cup Memories
My first World Cup memory was in qualifying when Paul Calaguiri scored the stunner vs Trinidad & Tobago to put the USA through in 1990. The results were not fantastic in Italy for the States but to think that Bob Gansler qualified that squad with a bunch of college players is a feat in and of itself.
The first match I attended was Germany vs Belgium at Soldier Field in 1994. It was a fantastic game that ended with Germany edging out a 3-2 result. Controversy surrounded the match as the referee missed a penalty that Belgium had earned and was ultimately banned from refereeing international matches. 60,000 fans whistling in derision when the penalty was not called was an unbelievable experience.
2002 saw a bunch of us huddled over at Coach Bennett's house for the US vs Germany quarterfinal match. We are all tuned in, watching Tony Sanneh, a player Coach Bennett had coached in college, playing against players that he played against in Bundesliga action, and then a storm hits! The satellite goes out and all of us run for our cars and head over to Paul Coleman's house to finish watching the match via good `ol cable TV!
