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Top Goal Scorer Says Team Can
Win Group A in World Cup
Paulo Wanchope, 29, the top goal
scorer of Costa Rica's national
soccer team, said in a statement
on Sunday that the team had a
good chance of going through
into the second round of the
2006 World Cup.
Wanchope said that Group A,
where Costa Rica will play
against Germany, Poland and
Ecuador, is one that "deserves
utmost respect" but it is also
makes the second round
accessible. Costa Rica's
"tricolor" team will play the
opener against hosts Germany on
June 9 in Munich.
This will be Costa Rica's third
World Cup bid, following the
1990 World Cup played in Italy
and 2002 in Tokyo-Seoul.
Germany is not having the best
time, but it is favorite because
of tactics and because it is the
host, said Wanchope.
Poland could be a strong rival
with its fast and well-organized
game, while Ecuador plays in
typical South American style
where tactics prevail, said the
forward.
The game against Germany is one
"which I had never dreamed of;
a great privilege and a great
opportunity to show off our
football."
"We have to prepare ourselves
mentally from this moment on, so
that the pressure generated by
an international event does not
affect us, because this is a
game that the whole world will
talk about," Wanchope said.
Wanchope has scored 43 goals in
67 international games, since he
started with Costa Rica in 1996.
In October, the "tricolor"
veteran said he wanted to end
his international career after
the World Cup, which runs until
July 9 next year.
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