Friday, June 09, 2006

welcome to the world cup, day one

At long last, the big day. Kell's overflowed with enthusiasm. It was hard to hate the Germans because their strikes were so damnably impressive, but Costa Rica can hold its head high. For long minutes it looked like they were doing nothing at all, then out of nowhere, like magic, there was Wanchope, embarked on one of his quick and snakelike bursts, all the way to the back of the net. Germany, with all its strengths, was lax in defense past the midfield, relying entirely on the offiside trap and Lehmann. (Ah, the look on Lehmann's face as the ball passed him by. Priceless. Equally priceless: the smile on Oliver Kahn's face by the time Lehmann had let two goals past.) End result: 4-2 Germany, but a good time had by all.

We didn't know what to expect from Poland v. Ecuador, and it turned out to be a fairly well-matched game. Both teams seemed sure-footed and determined, but between Ecuador's full-on attack mode and Poland's bad luck, Ecuador took it, 2-nil.

Tomorrow's the really big day: three matches then a Timbers game on top of it.

No comments: