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 The tournament continued to live up to its reputation as one of
the best in recent years and in a hugely enjoyable, fast-paced game
the U.S. grabbed a late goal for a surprise 2-1 victory over their
deflated opponents.
Earlier, African champions Nigeria could only stumble to a dire
goalless draw with Iran in the first really poor game spectators
have seen in Brazil.
Germany became the first team to notch up a century of World Cup
games and Thomas Mueller's hat-trick - the first of the tournament -
easily saw off of Portugal in a 4-0 win in their Group G opener in
Salvador.
The occasion had been billed as clash between two European
heavyweights but was effectively over in the opening 45 minutes when
the Germans scored three times and combative Portuguese center back
Pepe was sent off.
In the second half, Germany played at a much slower pace as the
stupefying heat took its toll but still scored a fourth goal through
Mueller.
"It was incredibly hot on the pitch. It's nice to get a great win
like this today but we've still got a long way to go," Germany
captain Philipp Lahm said.
Portugal coach Paulo Bento suggested the referee was biased in favor
of Germany but his players let him down badly.
World player of the year Cristiano Ronaldo had a disappointing game
and there must be doubts now about the prospects for Portugal, who
next face a buoyant United States on Sunday in Manaus.
In the other Group G match, Clint Dempsey scored after 29 seconds in
Natal, the fifth fastest goal in World Cup history, and the
Americans then faced a Ghanaian onslaught for the rest of the game.
After a string of goalmouth scrambles, near misses and fine saves by
U.S. keeper Tim Howard, Andre Ayew equalized in the 82nd minute. But
four minutes later U.S. substitute John Brooks headed in from a
corner for his first international goal.
"There are things we can improve on but we got the three points we
badly wanted," U.S. coach Juergen Klinsmann said.
"Ghana is a good team, they know how to grind the game. It was what
we expected."
The victory represented revenge over the team who had ended U.S.
participation in the last two World Cups. It also meant Klinsmann
had made a winning start in all five World Cups he has been involved
in as coach and player.
SHEER EXCITEMENT
The sheer excitement of this tournament - which contrasts painfully
with the many boring games in South Africa in 2010 - has fans
buzzing.
"The World Cup has been dour and too tactical for years and this has
been wide open," said England fan Ross Letham as he watched a game
on a big screen in Sao Paulo.
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Brazil attacking midfielder Zico said he believed coaches were
largely to thank.
"I think the coaches have adopted the philosophy of first scoring
and then defending," he told a FIFA media briefing.
Just to remind fans what they had not been missing, Iran and Nigeria
served up an appalling draw in Curitiba. Neither side seemed able to
pass the ball or shoot on target and it was Iran who had the best
chance to score.
Brazilian supporters will be expecting much better when their side
take on Mexico in their second Group A match in Fortaleza on
Tuesday. Both teams won their opening games.
Brazil will keep Mexico guessing until the very last minute as to
whether they will face burly forward Hulk, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari
indicated. Hulk has been trying to shake off a thigh injury. The
Mexicans plan to field the same starting 11.
Also on Tuesday, Group H becomes the last to get into action, with
highly-fancied Belgium facing Algeria and Russia meeting South
Korea.
The Russian players have said little of interest so far and their
Italian coach Fabio Capello, a renowned disciplinarian, said on
Monday he had banned the squad from using Twitter because it could
be a nuisance.
Brazil suffered from major technical and infrastructure challenges
in the run-up to the World Cup, one of them being a lack of
accommodation.
In the jungle city of Manaus, some tourists were forced to venture
into the red light district and stay in "love hotels", which usually
rent out their rooms for a couple of hours to amorous couples.
"It was either sleep in the street or sleep in the love hotel. And
we have been propositioned every night," said England fan Marc
Cummings with a laugh.
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
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