By Mike Woitalla in Hamburg
Hamburg's AOL Arena turned Latin American when Ecuador faced Costa Rica.
Fans streaming out of the train station were greeted by young women distributing Costa Rican bananas they pulled out of red wagon with a sign, ''The Best Bananas in the World.''
Not to be outdone, representatives from the Ecuadorian tourist industry gave away tote bags with tea bags and chocolate from the Andean nation, and brochures luring visitors to the Galapagos Islands.
In the stadium, Ecuador's 3-0 win ensured that the South American nation will be getting more attention.
''We have on opportunity to show ourselves to the world,'' said Ecuador's Colombian coach, Luis Suarez. ''Everyone should respect us. We are a strong team.''
And thanks to midfielders Luis Valencia and Edison Mendez, and a potent frontline, there's more than one team with yellow shirts and blue shorts at this tournament capable delighting fans and sweeping away the opposition.
The win clinched Ecuador a spot in the second round and eliminated the Ticos. Ecuador, which opened with a 2-0 victory against the Poles, has a superior goal difference over Germany. The Germans, who also clinched second-round passage, must beat Ecuador on Tuesday to win the group.
''I'm happy to have qualified for the second round,'' said Mendez. ''Can we beat Germany? Of course.''
This from a team that has reached the World Cup only once before, in 2002, when it lost to Mexico and Italy before beating Croatia. It had beaten Argentina and Brazil in qualifying for the 2006 finals, but skeptics pointed out those wins came at the high altitude of Quito.
In their sea-level wins in Germany, the Ecuadorians have been diverse in the attack. Combining with short passes, hitting long penetrating balls and baffling defenders on the dribble. They've also been unbeatable in the back.
Central defender Giovanny Espinoza, who shut down Paolo Wanchope, is nicknamed La Sombra (''The Shadow'') for his tight marking. He and partner Ivan Hurtado gave notice in qualifying, when neither Argentina or Brazil could muster more than one goal against Ecuador.
In the midfield, Valencia, 20, and Mendez, 27, have been brilliant, especially with their well-weighted crosses. Valencia set up the opening goal by Carlos Tenorio against Costa Rica and Mendez assisted on Agustin ''El Tin'' Delgado's strike and the third goal, by Ivan Kaviedes. Tenorio and Delgado also struck against Poland.
Kaviedes, whose arm is tattooed with the words, ''If you don't know me, don't judge me,'' scored 43 goals in the Ecuadorian league in 1998. That led to a contract with Italy's Perugia. But inconsistency turned him into a journeyman and he has since played in Spain, Mexico, England, Portugal and Argentina.
He is nicknamed ''Nine,'' because his school team uniforms had spelled-out numbers in English on their jerseys rather than numerals.
In Germany, coming off the bench in both games for Tenorio, Kaviedes has shown excellent form, assisting on Delgado's goal against Poland and scoring against Costa Rica.
After burying Mendez's cross, Kaviedes pulled a yellow Spider Man mask out of his shorts and slipped it over his head. It was a tribute to former teammate Otilino Tenorio, who celebrated his goals in that manner before dying in car accident last year.
The Ecuadorian fans, who had been chanting ''Yes we can!'' before and during the game, turned it into, ''Yes we could!'' after Kaviedes' goal.
But can they when the competition becomes more formidable?