Argentina, England win as Cup heats up
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-11 08:33 NO TROUBLE
The second day of the World Cup went off without any of the fan violence some
had feared.
German riot police with dogs converged on Frankfurt's Roemerberg square late
on Saturday as drinking fans grew rowdy, but no major incidents of violence were
reported.
Far-right extremists, chanting "Foreigners out," marched in the World Cup
host city Gelsenkirchen, but they were outnumbered by opposing demonstrators,
who pelted them with fruit.
Germany is keen to project a positive image to the world and has been
preparing meticulously for the tournament. Some 250,000 police are deployed
around the country to keep the peace.
Roughly 1.5 million foreign fans are expected to visit Germany during the
tournament -- a month-long extravaganza that takes place once every four years
and includes teams from 32 nations across the world.
Hosts Germany kicked off the 18th World Cup on Friday with a thrilling 4-2
triumph over Costa Rica -- a result that broke the record for most goals scored
in a World Cup opener.
On Sunday, the other teams in Group C, Netherlands and Serbia &
Montenegro, meet in the eastern city of Leipzig.
In two Group D matches, Angola will face Portugal in Cologne and Mexico will
meet Iran in Nuremberg.
Iran coach Branko Ivankovic on Saturday refused to answer questions regarding
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust, saying his team
was in Germany to make friends.
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