Germany spoiled Curacao’s World Cup debut with a 7-1 hammering
An early scare from the blue wave was not enough to deter Germany as the four-time World Cup winners ended their opening day with a 7-1 thrashing of Curacao. Germany lost their opening games at the last two editions of the World Cup, but a brace from Kai Havertz and goals from Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav eventually helped them secure all three points.
GERMANY VS CURACAO HIGHLIGHTS
Curacao always knew it would be an uphill task against the mighty Germans, but they had a moment to cheer in the first half when they found an equalizer through Livano Comenencia. But Julian Nagelsmann and his side had enough firepower to sweep Curacao aside and lay an early marker on the rest of the sides.
Before the match Nagelsmann described the match as a perfect example of a David and Goliath battle and it started to show the huge gap in quality between the two teams.
The German attack was mainly through the middle as Curacao’s defense was broken. They used the wings at times with Brown constantly overlapping and causing panic in the box.
The goals started coming in the 6th minute when Nmecha played a nice one-two with Wirtz before sending a shot past Eloy Room. The ball suddenly began to chase Dortmund everywhere and another shot went just over the goal.
Germany continued to create chances and should have had more. But the 1-0 score allowed Curacao to keep believing they could find a way back.
CURACAA’S MOMENTS WENT QUICKLY
Curacao’s story fits well with what the World Cup is all about. The nation of just 158,000 had to rely on talent coming from the Netherlands to help them live the dream and a determined manager in Dick Advocaat to guide them.
At 1-0, Curacao decided to shock everyone. A simple switch of play was enough to unlock the German defense and Curacao moved the ball up the middle. The ball was deflected and fell to Comenencia and his shot beat Neuer and sent a small section of the Curacao fans into delirium.
They began to feel that there was actually a chance to match Germany, who lost to Mexico in 2018 and Japan in 2022.
But that goal managed to wake Germany up as wave after wave of attacks followed. Schlotterbeck pulled off a great save from Room’s corner, but he couldn’t stop the next one in the 38th minute.
Soon after, Nmecha was fouled inside the box and Havertz stepped up to ensure Germany went into the break with a 3-1 lead.
Once play restarted, it took just 69 seconds for Jamal Musial to put the game to bed with his fourth goal for the side. Suddenly it looked like a shooting practice as the Germans lined up.
By then the shot count was well over 15 as Germany finished the night with a total of 26 attempts and 11 on target. Brown, who was a threat on the left, made it 5-1 in the 68th minute, but the hunger for goals did not go away.
Nagelsmann made changes, but Curacao had no respite. Undav made it 6-1 in the 78th minute as Curacao struggled to make an impact.
Havertz could then end the match with a nice dink goal just two minutes before the end of normal playing time. Even in the break, Germany looked to add more as they looked to improve on their 8-0 start against Saudi Arabia all the way back in 2002. The game also saw Germany leapfrog Brazil as the top goalscorer in World Cup history.
CURACAO LEARNED A HARD LESSON
For Curacao, the moment of playing in the World Cup will surely go down in the history books. But this game will be one they want to quickly forget and move on from.
Most of the goals came from a lack of defensive cohesion and Germany only being able to cut through the middle.
While scoring a goal and giving their fans a chance to celebrate was a sensational and special moment, they will need to step up their game to survive the tournament. Apart from the goal up front, the attack lacked punch.
The refereeing was also questionable as Curacao had many chances to cause Germany problems on the counter. In the end, they only had six shots and two on goal. They next face Ecuador on Saturday 20 June and will be hoping to make a bigger impression.
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Published on:
June 15, 2026 0:37 AM IST