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Germany opens World Cup on Friday; Brazil the favorite
(Ticker)
Updated: 2006-06-08 09:19 MUNICH, Germany - Host Germany will play the first World Cup game. But everyone is waiting to be mesmerized by Brazil.
In 2002, the United States nearly made the semifinals of the World Cup. This time, it may be fortunate to escape the group stage. The World Cup begins on Friday with two Group A games - Germany will face Costa Rica at Munich and Poland will meet Ecuador at Gelsenkirchen. Germany lost to Brazil in the 2002 World Cup final. The Germans are led by forwards Miroslav Klose, who was the Bundesliga Player of the Year with 25 goals, and midfielder Michael Ballack. But this German team may not be good enough defensively to get back to the final. The Germans allowed 11 goals in last summer's Confederations Cup and lost to Italy, 4-1, on March 1. Brazil is clearly the team to beat. Then again, that was the case in 1982 as well. Brazil has won the World Cup a record five times and is the only country to participate in the previous 17 events. Nothing short of a sixth championship is going to be accepted. "Brazil is the favorite without a doubt," said the legendary Pele, who led Brazil to the 1970 World Cup title. "But you never know. Sometimes you think the game will be easy, and then you're beat. In the World Cup, anything can happen." In 1982, Brazil featured skilled players such as Falcao, Socrates and Zico, yet lost to Italy in the quarterfinals. But Brazil won in 2002 with Ronaldinho, the FIFA World Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006, and Ronaldo, a three-time Player of the Year. Once again, the team has an embarrassment of riches with those two along with midfielder Kaka, Robinho, Cafu and Robert Carlos. Ronaldinho will wear Brazil's fabled No. 10 jersey, immortalized by Pele, and last used in a World Cup by Rivaldo. Last June, Ronaldinho captained the Brazilians to their second straight Confederations Cup crown. "I think it will be Brazil's World Cup," Ronaldinho said. "I don't think about standing out or being the best. I simply want to do my best so that Brazil will be world champions." Brazil is in Group F and will play its first match against Croatia on June 13. Australia and Japan are also in Group F. The United States is in Group E, arguably the most loaded of the eight, with Italy, the Czech Republic and Ghana. All but Ghana are in the top 12 of the FIFA world rankings. |
