Ticos, meet the Germans

Players and coaching staff from Costa Rica seemed impressed with the effort shown by Germany in their friendly against Colombia. As if they did not know it before, the Ticos seemed concerned about the quality of German soccer, and do not make any bold promises in regards to their opener with the hosts on Friday. One has to wonder who they thought they would play if not a heavy favoured German side. Maybe they were expecting the same team that lost 4-1 to Italy earlier in the year? In any case, coach Alexandre Guimaraes also watched Poland’s win over Croatia, and told his players they should consider all three group matches as title games. This week the team will continue to train in Walldorf, trying to control all the anxiety ahead of the big game against the Germans.