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 Germany launch World Cup in style
 Torsten Frings scores with a swerving shot from 30 meters to seal Germany's win over Costa Rica. SPECIAL REPORTQUICKVOTEYOUR E-MAIL ALERTSMUNICH, Germany -- A spectacular late goal by Torsten Frings capped a 4-2 win for Germany over Costa Rica as the hosts launched the football World Cup in Munich in thrilling style. Frings scored with a swerving shot from 30 meters with just four minutes left after Miroslav Klose had scored twice to keep Germany in front. Philipp Lahm gave Germany a dream start, curling the ball into the corner of the net from the edge of the penalty area, after just five minutes but Paulo Wanchope equalized for the Central Americans seven minutes later. (Match Report) Klose restored Germany's lead with a close-range finish from Bastian Schweinsteiger's cross on 17 minutes and then converted a rebound from his own header on 61 minutes to put the three-time world champions further ahead before Wanchope struck again. "It is always important to start off with a win," Lahm told reporters. "You could see what euphoria there was in the stadium. Part of the victory should be credited to the fans. They were the 12th man on the pitch." Poland and Ecuador, the other two teams in Group A, meet in Gelsenkirchen later Friday. Following months of anticipation, years of preparation and hundreds of qualifying games across the globe, the game was the first of 64 matches featuring 32 teams that will be played in 12 cities across Germany, concluding with the final on July 9 in Berlin. All 3.2 million tickets for the month-long tournament have been sold, with hundreds of thousands of football fans already in Germany for what German Chancellor Angela Merkel describes as "a unique festival of sport and friendship." Friday's kick off was preceded by a parade of 170 former World Cup winners, including Argentine star Diego Maradona and Brazilian legend Pele who carried the World Cup trophy into the stadium accompanied by German model Claudia Schiffer. Dancers and bands dressed in traditional Bavarian lederhosen entertained a capacity 66,000 crowd inside the Allianz Arena. German President Horst Koehler was joined by chief organizer Franz Beckenbauer, a World Cup winner with West Germany as captain in 1974 and as coach in 1990, and FIFA president Sepp Blatter to officially open the tournament. "Finally it can start," said Koehler. "Welcome to Germany. May we see lots of goals and fair play." Thousands more supporters gathered outside the stadium and in the city's famous Bavarian beer gardens enjoying the summer sunshine. CNN's Becky Anderson said it was a "truly exciting time in Munich," with German fans mixing with "raucous, well behaved" Costa Rican supporters. "There are fans drinking, singing and dancing ... there's a real party atmosphere," said Anderson. "For us, this is a once in a lifetime chance," Roberto Carranza, a 20-year-old student from San Jose, told The Associated Press. "The whole world is going to know about Costa Rica." "This is the most beautiful game in the world and I am here at the very start of it," German fan Klaus Breitmann from Cologne told Reuters. "This is the biggest party in the world and I am invited." German excitement had been tinged by security concerns and pessimism about the national side's chances in a tournament in which they have traditionally been perennial contenders. Germany reached the final four years ago in Japan-South Korea and have won the tournament three times, including in 1974 when the former West Germany won as hosts. But coach Juergen Klinsmann, a World Cup winner in 1990, had been criticized over the team's recent poor form. Germany also started the tournament without their captain and star player Michael Ballack, who suffered a calf injury during Germany's 3-0 win over Colombia in a warm-up last week. Meanwhile, police in Munich on Friday were braced for potential crowd trouble, Reuters reported. "Everyone can come, shout until they lose their voices, have a great time and feel at home with friends," said Bavarian interior ministry spokesman Rainer Riedl. "But the message to any hooligan or trouble maker is clear -- security will function and we are not here to joke around." Fan spokesman Michael Gabriel told Deutschlandfunk public radio that a friendly atmosphere in the host cities was the best check again hooliganism. "We're relatively unworried, especially when you see how the World Cup has almost opened in Berlin and what euphoria people are bringing onto the streets," Gabriel said. "This mood is really the best prevention against violence." Ticket holders for Friday's match passed through two security checks to enter the stadium. Every match ticket bears the buyer's name in an effort to cut down on black market sales. A 56-kilometer (35 miles) no-fly zone will also be enforced around the stadium as part of anti-terrorism precautions. Those unable to get inside the stadiums will be able to watch the matches at "fan parties" across the country featuring big screens and beer tents, while a global television audience of billions will tune in to watch the tournament from afar. In Frankfurt, where English fans are gathering ahead of their team's opening match against Paraguay on Saturday, police chiefs said the city was peaceful, Reuters reported. Frankfurt police chief Achim Thiel told a press conference on Friday that a Greek man had been arrested for pulling a knife on an England fan in a bar, but that no one had been hurt. Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Thomas, part of an English police mission working alongside German police, said there had been no arrests of England fans in Frankfurt or anywhere else in Germany. "It was a very peaceful day yesterday and a very peaceful night," Thomas told a press conference. "There are groups of English football supporters and supporters from many other countries enjoying themselves in Frankfurt, drinking quite a bit and making lots of noise." Elsewhere more than 50,000 Polish supporters were expected in Gelsenkirchen for their side's opening clash with Ecuador on Friday, kicking off at 7 p.m. GMT. "We're here to have fun, relax, watch football, really just to live it, to have a good time," Piotr Lembowicz told Reuters. "Last night we were singing with Ecuadorians and I've got a spare shirt to exchange with one of them after the game. I've only got a ticket for Costa Rica but I wanted to be here." Warsaw authorities said they expected up to 300,000 Poles to cross the border into neighboring Germany to follow the tournament, Reuters reported. In a weekly podcast, Chancellor Merkel called for Germany to produce a "top-class performance" on and off the pitch. "We all want to show that Germany is capable of top-class performances -- and not just in soccer stadiums," said Merkel. "We are looking forward to guests from every corner of the Earth and we want to celebrate a great festival with them, peacefully and joyfully." 
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