The opening round of the World Cup has begun with 32 teams hoping to make their way to the round of 16.

Group A—Germany 4 : Costa Rica 2

The host Germans got things off to a bang literally, as they netted four goals in their opening game against Costa Rica. Captain Michael Ballack was absent from the game, nursing a calf injury. It didn’t matter though as Miroslav Klose scored two goals sending the Munich faithful into a state of pandemonium. Paulo Wanchope scored two goals for Costa Rica in a losing effort.

Poland 0 : Ecuador 2

Ecuador shocked Poland with a 2-0 win. Carlos Tenorio and Agustin Delgado scored for Ecuador as they pulled off the upset.

Group B—England 1 : Paraguay 0

Carlos Gamarra scored an own goal off of a David Beckham free-kick, which happened to be the only goal scored in the game. Steven Gerrard and Peter Crouch both got yellow carded, while Wayne Rooney didn’t see any action.

Group E—Italy 2 : Ghana 0

All the bad karma from the Juventus match-fixing and illegal betting scandals didn’t seem to faze goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as he pitched a shutout and got help from Andrea Pirlo and sub Vincenzo Iaquinta, who scored for the Azzurri.

U.S.A. 0 : Czech Republic 3

The U.S. was outclassed in their opener against the Czechs. Tomas Rosicky scored a pair of goals in a winning effort against the hapless Yanks.

Group F—Brazil 1 : Croatia 0

Perennial favorite Brazil was listed at -1 prior to their game against Croatia and pushed with a goal in the 44th minute from midfielder Kaka.

Group G—France 0 : Switzerland 0

There was a lot of talk about France attempting to bounce back from a horrible campaign in Asia 2002, where they failed to register a goal. By all accounts they failed to learn their lesson. Switzerland covered at +1 as they played to a scoreless draw against Les Bleus.

Korea Republic 2 : Togo 1

After a very successful campaign in 2002, many pegged Korea as a one-hit wonder. If their opener is any indication, the critics are dead wrong. The Koreans came back from a 1-0 deficit to win 2-1 on goals from Chun Soo Lee and 2002 hero Jung Hwan Ahn. Korea supporters celebrated because their team won and because they covered at -½.