Trying to surprise

So the opening day of the 2006 World Cup is finally here. For Costa Rica, more than the pleasure of being in its third finals ever, the honour of taking part in the opening match. This time, against the host nation, Germany. It is obvious that the Germans are the natural favourites for the game that will take place in Munich this afternoon, and shall come out with the three points if all goes as planned.

However, football (soccer) is not a sport where the natural thing always happens. The opening match of a World Cup is particularly fond of surprises. After all, who could have guessed that France would lose to Senegal in 2002. Or that Argentina would lose to Cameroon in 1990, or Italy tie Bulgaria in 1986. Anything can, and does, happen in a short tournament like the World Cup, and no World Cup finals is free of a surprise or two.

So why can’t the Ticos dream of pulling an upset in the game against the hosts? Sure, the Central Americans haven’t played well lately, losing four straight friendlies just before the tournament. The Germans, in the meantime, are coming off a 3-0 win over South Americans Colombia. Well, in the end these friendlies don’t count all that much. Many teams have done well in friendlies prior to the World Cup only to fail miserably after the tournament starts, while others have done the opposite. All that counts is what happens after the official start of the competition.

The Germans will likely win. However, for all the fans of Costa Rica - and perhaps even a good few neutral fans -, there’s always hope that football will show its magic once again in Munich today, and the probable result will not be the one showing in the scoreboard at the end of the game.