MUNICH, Germany (AP) – Germany responded to the pressure as the World Cup’s host nation with a 4-2 victory over Costa Rica in the tournament opener Friday, a performance that could inspire the team the rest of the way.

Captain Michael Ballack missed the game with a calf injury, but striker Miroslav Klose scored twice on his 28th birthday, offsetting two goals by Paulo Wanchope of Costa Rica.

The Germans got an immediate boost when defender Philipp Lahm, still wearing a special brace after surgery on his left elbow three weeks ago, curved in a shot from the edge of the penalty area in the sixth minute. He got the open space he needed when Luis Marin slipped, leaving Lahm plenty of time to aim his shot into upper far corner.

That should have been the instant lift Germany needed, but Costa Rica stunned the hosts in the 12th minute. Veteran striker Wanchope beat the German offside trap and coolly slipped the ball past goalkeeper Jens Lehmann.

Suddenly, it was 1-1, and Germany’s young and inexperienced defense was exposed.

It didn’t take Germany long to recover, though.

Bernd Schneider broke through on the right side and passed to Bastian Schweinsteiger, who sent a crisp pass to the far post for Klose to knock in after 17 minutes.

In the 61st, Klose’s header was saved by goalkeeper Jose Porras, but the Bundesliga’s leading scorer fired the rebound high into the net _ and Germany seemed safe.

Not quite, as Wanchope got his second in the 73rd, again beating the offside trap. A through pass caught Germany’s central defenders Per Mertesacker and Christoph Metzelder flat-footed. Wanchope shrugged off a late challenge by Arne Friedrich to beat Lehmann for the second time.

Torsten Frings clinched the win in the 87th with a wicked 30-yard shot that gave relief to an entire country.