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Host Germany is favored to top Group A at the
next month's 32-nation World Cup football finals. No World Cup host has
ever failed to make it out of the group stage on home soil, and that trend
is expected to continue.
Germany was put into
Group A in order to play at the country's three biggest stadiums, then got
a fortuitous
draw in December when Poland, Ecuador and Costa Rica were added to the
group as first round opponents.
International football expert commentator Derek Rae predicts that
despite some problems, the draw could help Germany win Group A.
"It could have been an awful lot more difficult from the German point
of view," he says. "The worst fear was that they might get a nightmare
draw. As it is, it is fairly straight-forward for a German side that has
not exactly impressed over the past few months."
Derek Rae says German fans are concerned for several reasons.
"They have had difficulties in the build-up to the World Cup finals,"
he explains. "Coach Juergen Klinsmann, continues to live in California. He
does fly to Germany regularly, but that is not good enough for a lot of
people in Germany. And they have a young, raw side and certainly not the
most gifted German team of all time."
Juergen Klinsmann, who played for Germany on its
last World Cup winning team in 1990, took over as coach after Rudi
Voeller's disappointing showing at the 2004 European Championship. But
Klinsmann's non-traditional coaching methods have drawn the ire
of many fans.
Few believe Germany has what it takes to win the World Cup. But with
the home country advantage and players like Michael Ballack and Miroslav
Klose, Rae likes Germany's chances of making it to the second round.
"I think Germany should win this group. Poland is not the strongest of
European sides," he notes. "Ecuador and Costa Rica might have their
moments in the group. Ecuador though, does not shovel very well. Costa
Rica has some merit to them. They came desperately close to coming out of
the group at the last World Cup Finals in the Far East. So they will have
to be watched and they, of course, will be Germany's first opponent - they
will begin the competition in Munich on the ninth of June."
There was some controversy when Klinsmann named
Jens Lehmann as his starting goalkeeper ahead of Oliver Kahn, who backstopped
Germany to the
World Cup final in 2002. But Rae says the move makes sense.
"I think if you study Juergen Klinsmann and his methods, I do not know
that it is such a big surprise," he says. "Jens Lehmann is the sort of
goalkeeper who I think goes along and fits into Juergen Klinsmann's
playing system much more. And I think that just personality-wise he is
perhaps a better fit as well."
Just two teams will advance from Group A, but none of the teams are
ready to admit that they will not make it to the second round. Poland had
a disappointing World Cup in 2002, failing to advance out of the first
round despite a victory over the United States. But while coach Pawel
Janas expects his team to make it into the second round, he says "you have
to prepare and show it on the field."
Ecuador finished third in South American
qualifying behind Brazil and Argentina, and coach Luis Fernando Suarez is
hoping an immigrant trafficking scandal off the field will not be a
distraction. Costa Rica is hoping to catch opening game opponent Germany
off guard, powered by a crop of newcomers who join nine veterans from
2002, when the Costa Ricans failed to advance to the second round only
because of goal difference. | 
