Germany v Curacao: Lift-Off in Houston as Four-Time Champions Put Seven Past World Cup Debutants

• Kai Havertz scored twice as Germany romped to a 7-1 victory over World Cup debutants Curacao at Houston Stadium in their Group E opener.
• Curacao, the smallest nation in tournament history, briefly drew level through Livano Comenencia before Germany pulled away with six unanswered goals.
• Manuel Neuer became the oldest Germany player to feature at a major tournament at 40 years and 79 days, while 78-year-old Dick Advocaat became the oldest coach in World Cup history.

Havertz and Musiala Lead the Rout as Germany Send a Message to Group E

Germany launched their World Cup campaign in devastating fashion, putting seven goals past debutants Curacao in front of 68,021 fans at Houston Stadium. Kai Havertz scored twice and was named Player of the Match, but this was a collective demolition from Julian Nagelsmann’s side as six different scorers found the net in Germany’s most emphatic World Cup display in years. The four-time champions, seeking redemption after group-stage exits in Russia and Qatar following their 2014 title, could hardly have asked for a more convincing start.

Germany set the tone inside six minutes. Florian Wirtz played the ball into Felix Nmecha on the edge of the area, and the midfielder steered a superb first-time finish with his right foot into the far corner to make it 1-0. The crowd was overwhelmingly behind the Germans, but a spirited contingent of Curacao supporters had traveled to Texas to cheer on the Caribbean island as it became the smallest country ever to appear at a World Cup.

Those fans were given a moment to treasure in the 21st minute. Some defensive uncertainty from Germany allowed Comenencia to collect the ball centrally, and his left-footed shot through traffic took a deflection before nestling beyond the despairing dive of Manuel Neuer. Sections of the stadium erupted. It was Curacao’s first goal in World Cup history, and for a few fleeting minutes the debutants were level with the four-time champions.

The joy was short-lived. Germany regained the lead in the 38th minute when Nico Schlotterbeck rose unmarked to head home from a Nathaniel Brown corner. Worse followed for Curacao deep into first-half stoppage time when Riechedly Bazoer upended Nmecha inside the penalty area and Havertz rolled the spot kick into the net to give Germany a commanding 3-1 cushion at the break.

Any faint hopes of a Curacao comeback were extinguished within two minutes of the restart. Joshua Kimmich threaded a defense-splitting pass into the path of Jamal Musiala, and the Bayern Munich midfielder swept a right-footed finish into the bottom corner to make it 4-1. The match between the tournament’s oldest and youngest coaches featured a record age gap on the touchline, with 78-year-old Advocaat pitting his vast experience against 38-year-old Nagelsmann, the youngest coach at this World Cup.

Brown marked his World Cup debut with a composed volleyed finish in the 68th minute, and substitute Deniz Undav added a sixth from close range after assisting on Brown’s goal minutes earlier. Havertz completed his brace in the 88th minute to round off the scoring at 7-1, well short of the World Cup record margin of nine goals set when Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982 but emphatic all the same.

Brown was beaming after the final whistle. “It’s indescribable that I scored in my first World Cup match. We’re very pleased to have scored seven goals. The goal we conceded was unnecessary, but perhaps it did us good to wake us up. I’m proud of the team for simply carrying on and playing well. The goals are good for us, but we also need to keep working on our weaknesses,” Brown said.

At the other end of the experience scale, Neuer made history of his own by becoming the oldest Germany player to feature at a major tournament at 40 years and 79 days, breaking the record previously held by Lothar Matthaus at Euro 2000. The goalkeeper, who came out of international retirement for the tournament and was making his first appearance for Germany in almost two years, had one save on a quiet evening behind a dominant defense.

“I can still remember my first World Cup match in 2010 against Australia. I’m as excited as if this were my first World Cup. Either you love football or you don’t… that’s why [this fifth World Cup] is something very special for me,” Neuer said. “There was a real joy in playing, and the substitutes brought energy to the game, too. You can see the unity in the team. It wasn’t Brazil in the semi-finals, but Curacao in the first match… but a good start is important. We had that and that’s why we’re satisfied.”

Havertz, named Player of the Match for his two goals, was pleased with the collective display. “When you look at how we played for the most part, we can be satisfied. It should give us a lot of confidence for the tasks ahead. The first World Cup match is always tough… we’ve seen that in the past. That’s why we’re very happy with the 7-1 win. It was a good start. Now we need to recover well and then focus fully on the next match,” Havertz said.

Nagelsmann praised his players but also tipped his hat to Curacao. “It took us a few minutes to get back into the game after they equalised. Curacao can play football too, as we saw, and I’m curious to see how they’ll fare in the group going forward. I’m very satisfied with us scoring seven goals and our performance for the most part. A winning start is always important and we’re glad we managed it,” the Germany coach said.

Germany assume control of Group E and face Ivory Coast in Toronto on Saturday. Curacao, who can hold their heads high for the Comenencia goal and the spirit they showed in pockets of the match, turn their attention to a meeting with Ecuador on Saturday in Kansas City.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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