World unites as football fever kicks off in style

THE 2006 World Cup opened with a feast of goals yesterday, as hosts Germany beat Costa Rica 4-2 in the curtain-raiser in Munich.

Opening games in the tournament are traditionally cagey, low-scoring affairs but yesterday’s match was a refreshing exception, providing plenty of entertainment for a sell-out crowd of just under 60,000 and a huge worldwide television audience.

Before kick-off, the opening ceremony included a parade of former champions, going back to the first ever tournament in Uruguay in 1930. Among the legendary names taking a bow were Pele of Brazil, Franz Beckenbauer of Germany and former Republic of Ireland manager Jack Charlton, who was joined down on the pitch of the Allianz Arena by his brother Bobby and other representatives of England’s World Cup-winning team of 1966.