2006 World Cup Kicks Off In Germany

Security Tight As Millions To Attend, Billions More To Watch On TV Over Next Month

(CBS/AP)  In the U.S. it's "soccer." To most of the world it's "football." For everyone, it's the 2006 World Cup, and it's now under way in Munich.

CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports the location brings serious concerns about more than just who wins.

While 200,000 police are patrolling cities where more than 1 million foreign fans are gathering, security troops have been training in case the World Cup becomes a target of terrorism, Roth reports.

"The worst-case scenario would be an attack with chemical or weapons like a dirty bomb or something like that," Germany’s Gen. Maj. Justus Grabner told Roth.

So far no serious incidents have occurred.

Meanwhile, Germany defeated Costa Rica, 4-2, in the tournament's opening match. Ecuador shocked Poland 2-0 in Friday's second game.

Thirty-two countries are competing in the World Cup over the next month.

More than 60,000 German and Costa Rican fans poured through the streets of Munich before the kickoff, singing and chanting amid tight security, dazzling fanfare and many mugs of beer. There were more than 2,800 police from Munich and surrounding Bavaria, and no problems were reported.

Striker Miroslav Klose celebrated his 28th birthday by scoring two goals for the Germans. while Philipp Lahm and Torsten Frings also scored for the home side. Paulo Wanchope had both goals for Costa Rica.

In the late match, Ecuador striker Agustin Delgado set up a first-half goal and scored in the 80th to quiet a boisterous pro-Poland crowd. Poland finally had some scoring chances late in the game, hitting the goal post twice in the final minutes.

The security staff at the stadium took possession of hundreds of glass and plastic bottles as well as video cameras and flag poles at the gates.

At times, the line snaked hundreds of yards from the perimeter gates to a nearby railway station. But despite the crush, most fans reported waits of only 10 to 20 minutes.

"The Germans are pretty efficient," Bavarian Sophie Spindler said as she passed the checkpoint for banned items. "We didn't think there'd be much trouble."

Win or lose, Germans are counting on the world's largest sporting event — watched by hundreds of millions around the globe — as a chance to show off the "new Germany": reunified, rejuvenated and prospering.

Costa Ricans are also looking to the event to raise their nation's profile.

"For us, this is a once in a lifetime chance," said Roberto Carranza, a 20-year-old student from San Jose who was among the 66,000 attending the game. "The whole world is going to know about Costa Rica."

More than 3 million people are expected to attend the quadrennial soccer championship, and billions more will watch on television. A million foreign visitors to Germany are expected to spend a billion euros.

The U.S. team plays its opening game Monday against the Czech Republic.

In Newark, N.J., home to tens of thousands of Portuguese and Brazilian immigrants and their descendants, fans say the World Cup is good for the soul.

It's also good for business.

At Pegasus Sporting Goods on Ferry Street, sales have been up 75 percent in the past two months as enthusiasts snap up their national teams' jerseys almost as fast as staffer Michael Marques can put them on hangers.