June 20, 2006
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Germany beats Ecuador 3-0 to win Group A

BERLIN—Stronger. Higher. Faster. That might be the motto of the Olympics, rather than the World Cup, but home team Germany took it to heart at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday, toying with Ecuador for a 3-0 win in the final day of Group A competition.

The victory gave Germany first place in the group standings, setting up a second-round match against the second place finisher in Group A – England, Sweden or longshot Trinidad & Tobago. Ecuador finishes second to the Germans, and will face the Group A winner.

World Cup 2002 scoring hero Miroslav Klose put the game away before halftime, connecting from close range in the fourth and 44th minutes. Klose was the fourth German player to touch the ball in the penalty area for the opening score. Bernd Schneider brought the ball down the left side before passing off to Per Mertesacker. Mertesacker chipped to Bastian Schwansteiger at the far post, who in turn redirected the ball to Klose for the finish.

The 44th minute goal came on a breakaway. Michael Ballack sent a long chip over the Ecuadorean defense into the penalty area. Klose ran onto the ball, cut around flummoxed goalkeeper Cristian Mora and walked the ball into the empty net. The Germans almost scored on a similar play in the 25th minute, but Mora blocked the weak shot from inches away.

Lukas Podolski also outran the Ecuadorian defense for a long ball in the 30th, but Mora charged out of the area to kick the ball back toward midfield. Podolski got his revenge in the 57th minute, beating the unprotected Mora with a low shot after a blistering breakaway with Schneider.

Podolski almost had a second goal barely two minutes later. Ballack threaded a pass to Klose on the right side of the penalty area. In a near-mirror image of the earlier play, Klose cut the ball back to Podolski in the center, but the shot went just wide.

Ecuador’s best moment of the game came less than two minutes in, when Ivan Kaveides beat the German defense down the right side and launched a dangerous cross across the goalmouth. It turned out to be ‘keeper Jens Lehmann’s most challenging moment of the first half, but he snagged the ball before an Ecuadorian player could connect.

Otherwise, the Germans outran, outmuscled and generally outclassed the undermanned South Americans – strikers Ivan Hurtado and Carlos Tenorio were both on the bench nursing minor injuries -- through the first 45 minutes. Moving the ball from side-to-side and mounting well-timed runs onto long passes, they kept the Ecuadorian defense off-balance throughout. Ecuador came into the match needing only a tie to win the group, and it showed. They did not look physically or mentally prepared for a competitive match, and Germany, whose erratic pre-World Cup performances had led some to question whether they could even make it to the second round, capitalized on every lapse.

Not surprisingly, Ecuador picked up the pace after halftime, and forced Lehmann to make his first save of the day in the 49th minute, parrying Edwin Tenorio’s long shot over the bar. Substitute Cristian Lara, who replaced Luis Valencia in the 53rd minute, did his best to energize the attack, challenging Lehmann from 35 yards in the 66th, but missed wide.