World Cup all set for big kickoff in Germany
The World Cup was to kick off, when host nation Germany and Costa Rica set the ball rolling on a month-long, 64-match extravaganza.
Six years after it was controversially awarded the right to stage the finals, Germany has 12 gleaming stadiums ready to host three million fans and a gigantic security operation has swung into action.
But with hours to go until the teams lock horns at 1600 GMT after the opening ceremony in the futuristic Munich stadium, the host nation’s captain Michael Ballack appeared to be at loggerheads with coach Jurgen Klinsmann over his omission from the curtain-raiser.
Klinsmann said on Thursday that the new Chelsea signing would not be risked because he wanted him to recover from a calf injury in time for matches later in the tournament.
But Ballack, his team’s most influential player, told Bild newspaper he was fit and desperate to play in the Group A match.
“I have had intensive treatment. I feel fit and I’m not feeling pain any more. I want to play,” Ballack told Bild.
“I have told the coach. It is up to him whether I play against Costa Rica or not.”
Expectations are high in Germany that home advantage can help Klinsmann’s squad to win the nation’s fourth World Cup, but the hopes are pinned on a young team including 21-year-olds Bastian Schweinsteiger and Lukas Podolski.
Poland and Ecuador play in Gelsenkirchen in the other match of the first day.
The interest in the tournament is reflected in the expected TV audience of 1.5 billion for the opening match alone and 35 billion will have watched by the time the golden trophy is lifted in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on July 9, according to FIFA.
England’s bid to win football’s biggest prize for the first time for 40 years starts on Saturday when they face Paraguay in Frankfurt in Group B.
Confidence is high in England’s Black Forest base camp since striker Wayne Rooney was declared free from injury and ready to play some role in the tournament.
“Just having Wayne here anyway in the first place and working with us was a big boost to the lads,” said England captain David Beckham.
“But since he came back to the hotel and was passed fit for the tournament it’s given everybody a lift.”
Brazil are hot favourites to defend their title and lift the trophy for a record sixth time, but they must wait until Tuesday to begin their campaign with Croatia their first opponents in Berlin.
The Brazilians’ only concern is Ronaldo, the top scorer at the 2002 finals in South Korea and Japan, who sat out training on Thursday with a fever.
As Germany prepare to host their first World Cup since West Germany had the honour in 1974, a security net was being thrown around the stadiums.
AWACS surveillance planes were patrolling the skies, 250,000 police are on duty across the country and 7,000 soldiers are on standby, manning chemical and biological warfare units and emergency hospitals.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he was confident that fans and players would be safe.
“We entirely trust the German authorities and everything has been done to ensure this World Cup takes place in a safe atmosphere,” Blatter said.
Source:Soccer News
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