World Cup ticket orders top two million

Ticket orders for the 2006 World Cup in Germany have passed two million, organisers said yesterday.

As of early yesterday, 320,000 separate applications had been received for a total of 2.2 million tickets.

"Some matches are overbooked, the final in particular, but we still have tickets for many of the group matches," said organising committee vice-president Horst R Schmidt.

Only 812,000 tickets are up for grabs in the first sales window, which opened on February 1 and runs until March 31.

Applications received will go into a draw on April 15, with the order in which they are made making no difference.

Fans can apply for a maximum of 28 higher-priced tickets - up to four tickets per match for up to seven matches. For the cheapest category tickets, the maximum is two tickets for up to three matches.

Hosts Germany are as yet the only team guaranteed a place in the 32-team event.