Thanks to a foul-up by FIFA, you can still net a good deal on World Cup hotels in Germany, says Jeremy Gates

EVEN if star striker Wayne Rooney isn't fit, there's fresh hope for English soccer fans heading for the World Cup finals in Germany next month: they may be able to enjoy the comforts of a hotel room after watching Peter Crouch torment the opposition.

A spectacular mix-up by FIFA, soccer's governing body, means one million hotel room nights during the tournament are going on sale days before the kick-off on June 9.

Apparently FIFA, soccer's governing body, block-booked two million hotel room nights across Germany in June-July for sponsors, dignitaries, teams and fans - and sold barely a million of them. The rest have been handed back to German hoteliers, of whom 80 per cent are furious with such a late decision.

At this late stage, when many visitors have finalised travel arrangements, it is difficult to see how hoteliers will shift rooms without cutting prices. Many fans didn't book match tickets because of the problems of finding hotels nearby.

Patrick Oqvist, European marketing director for leading hotels website Hotels. com says: ''We predicted this was likely to happen back in November, when FIFA was struggling to sell the huge number of rooms it had been allocated. It is surprising how late they left it to make this move.'' Amazingly, Oqvist claims German hotel prices on June 2006 bookings show year-on-year falls for 2005 - particularly at the top, five star end of the market, with Berlin prices down 48 per cent and Munich 32 per cent. ''Prices have been falling for the last couple of weeks, '' he says. ''But two and three star hotel prices look more resilient.'' Oqvist's advice to fans is to wait a bit nearer the kick-off on June 9 for the best hotel deals. ''It could take a bit of time for this lot to filter through to the market, '' he says.

Current average three star room rates quoted by Hotels. com include Nuremberg (£71.65); Cologne (£96.79) and Frankfurt (£126.20). And there are plenty of empty rooms between match days.

At rival website LateRooms. com spokesman Andrew Pumphrey says: ''On the dates of the big games, capacity looks limited in the immediate area. It makes sense to use the excellent German rail system to stay half an hour away, and travel in for the match.'' For fans planning to catch the train to Germany - by catching Eurostar to Brussels, and changing there for Cologne - German rail operator Deutsche Bahn (DB) says most of its £69 London-Cologne specials for key England games have sold.

DB advises travellers to find the best Eurostar fare for London-Brussels - and then to book DB returns tickets separately from there to Cologne from £21 return, also subject to availability.

Soccer fans keen to see the stunning new Berlin central railway station, which cost £7bn and took ten years to build, can currently get London-Berlin single fares for just £93, including a second class Eurostar ticket to Brussels and a seat on the Berlin night train in a compartment sleeping two.

DB spokeswoman Marlies Blom says soccer fans are also snapping up the World Champion Pass, covering all second class train travel in Germany between June 7 and July 11 for £255.

INFORMATION Deutsche Bahn UK Booking Centre (08702 435 363 or by email to salesbahn. co. uk); The MaxiSIM travel SIM is available online at www. englandcalling. com (RRP £29.95, incl VAT and postage); Travelodge enquiries (08700 850 950).

Prices quoted by the website www.Hotels. com are based on prices actually paid for 20,000 hotels across 1,000 locations, rather than rates advertised. See also www. laterooms. com Downloadable pocket guides for each city hosting first round World Cup matches can be found online at www. germany. co. uk Details of World Cup Motorhomes, which can be collected in Hamburg, Mannheim and Muelheim, with priority for customers who book the full period from June 9 to July 11, are available online at www.WorldCupMotorhomes. com