And finding just the right beat isn't difficult, as a lot of popular music falls within the optimum tempo range and most other musical genres also have music in that range, Dr. Karageorghis says.

WSJ: Optimal Music for the Gym

It was the only real talking point of an opening that lacked any tempo with Jason Koumas and Gareth Bale restricted to long-range efforts.

BBC: Wales 2-0 Liechtenstein

That was as good as it got until shortly after the interval when the tempo started to pick up and John Arne Riise fizzed a long range left-foot strike just wide.

BBC: Man City 0-0 Liverpool