Germany Kicks Off

The wait the world was enduring is finally over. The World Cup 2006 has finally started.

And what better way then to bring the crowd to its edge of the seat with a thrilling 4-2 opener won of course by host nation Germany over Costa Rica. The scorers for Germany were Lahm, Klose (2) and Fringes. Costa Rica scored twice through Paulo Wanchop.

The pick of the goals for me has to be the Torsten Fringes one. For all the talk that he is too old, he showed us just why he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. Although playing in the anchor role, he can score scorchers when he is up 35-40 yards from goal. You don't see Makelele doing that! No doubt Makelele is a great in the holding role, but face it, football is about goals. And what Fringes did today showed that you need players who can score from all over the pitch.

I have to acknowledge Germany's team work. They do have great individual players like Klose who has a phenomenal strike-rate and playmakers like Fringes and Schweinsteiger and of course the famous Ballack. But they worked as team, something that teams like England, Spain and maybe even Brazil would prove unable to do. Those countries cited as an example have great individuals, but could fall into the trap by thinking they must do too much. Ronaldinho is a bit in that phase now, probably explaining his poor performance in the UEFA Champions League final. So in the light of that, I think Germany can be major contenders this year if they can continue to work as a team. "Players win matches, but teams win tournaments".

Well, I wish Germany all the best for the rest of their tournament! Hope their victory can bring me my small fortune (I bet on them to win the cup).

As for other betting tips. I think Ecuador have a very good chance of upsetting the odds against Poland in the game in 15minutes time. At odds of 4.00 (Singapore Pools), they are a awfully good choice to bet on. I would put $20 on that, a possible payout of $80 would come in handy!

Also, England will kick off their campaign against Paraguay at 2100hrs (Singapore Time (GMT +0800)), and I think England should pull off that win. However an opening odds of 1.53 (Singapore Pools), it's proabably not worth the money betting on them. You could bet on 2 or 3 goals though, with the odds for those coming in at the usual 3.4 and 3.6. The score should end up 2-0 or 2-1 in England's favour. But somehow it wouldn't surprise me too much if the score was indeed reversed in Paraguay's favour. Either way, you would still win a "total goals" bet.

The month-long of soccer has begun. I wish all the teams best of luck, and their supporters! May the team you support do well and may the gambling gods look favourably on you!