Germany launches World Cup 2026 with a rout: 7–1 against World Cup newcomers Curaçao

From a German perspective, the start was initially promising: as early as the 6th minute, Felix Nmecha gave the four-time world champion the lead. It was the earliest German World Cup goal since Philipp Lahm's strike at the 2006 home World Cup. The lead did not last long, however: in the 21st minute Curaçao struck back. FC Zürich's Livano Comenencia took advantage of a lapse in the German backline and scored with a deflected shot for the historic 1–1 – the first-ever World Cup goal for the Caribbean island nation. Head coach Dick Advocaat was visibly moved afterward: "Für das kleine Land ist es unfassbar, bei einer WM zu sein."

Havertz and Schlotterbeck turn it on before the break

The German team needed a few minutes after the equalizer to find its way back. "Wir haben 5/6 Minuten gebraucht, da war es sehr statisch – danach war es sehr gut", Nagelsmann analyzed. In the period just before the halftime whistle, the favorite struck twice: first, Nico Schlotterbeck headed home to restore the lead (45+2), then Kai Havertz converted a penalty won by Nmecha in stoppage time (45+5) to make it 3–1 at the break. For the Arsenal attacker, it was already the fifth successfully converted penalty in the sixth attempt of his career.

In the second half, the DFB team steadily extended its lead. Jamal Musiala, who is finding his way back to top form after a long injury layoff, scored in the 47th minute to make it 4–1. Nathaniel Brown, one of five World Cup debutants in the German squad, netted his first World Cup goal in the 68th minute and said afterward, visibly moved: "Im ersten WM-Spiel zu treffen, meine Familie ist da, dann mit den Jungs zu jubeln – einfach unglaublich." Deniz Undav (78th) and Havertz again (88th) completed the scoring. The highest German World Cup win since the 8–0 against Saudi Arabia in 2002 was within touching distance.

Historic result: Level with Belo Horizonte 2014

The 7–1 victory carries a special historical note for the German team: it is the second-highest win at a World Cup, level with the legendary 7–1 in the semifinal against Brazil on 8 July 2014 in Belo Horizonte. The Argentine newspaper Clarín recalled that memorable match and headlined that Germany had shown "keine Gnade gegenüber dem WM-Debütanten Curaçao". The Brazilian newspaper O Globo also pointed to memes going viral on social networks under the motto "Jetzt weiß Curaçao, wie es ist".

It was also a historic evening for goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. The 40-year-old celebrated his comeback in the DFB goal after 709 days and played his 20th World Cup match – a record for a keeper. "Ich gehe es an, als wäre es meine erste WM. Das war etwas ganz Besonderes für mich", the captain said. Head coach Nagelsmann praised him: "Manu hat eine Riesen-Turnier-Erfahrung. Die ist nicht nur im Spiel wichtig, sondern auch vor dem Spiel. Er hat alles erlebt, von ganz positiven Momenten bis hin zu sehr negativen auf der großen Bühne. Er ist ein Ruhe gebender Faktor für uns. Und er ist nach wie vor einer der besten Keeper der Welt." This also retrospectively justified the decision made shortly before the tournament to demote Oliver Baumann to a "world-class 1b solution".

Curaçao celebrates itself – the view from the Caribbean

From the opposition's perspective, the joy over the historic premiere outweighed the clear defeat. Curaçao, with around 160,000 inhabitants the smallest country ever to take part in a World Cup finals, experienced, in the words of former ZDF journalist Reinhard Schlieker, who lives in Germany, "ein kaum fassbares Ereignis". "Hier leben weniger Leute als in Heidelberg", Schlieker described the scale. Fan James summed up the mood: "Die Atmosphäre war fantastisch. Curacao hat alles gegeben. Es ist ein legendäres Gefühl." Curaçao.nu headlined: "Historisches WM-Debüt endet mit einer deutlichen Niederlage gegen Deutschland."

Head coach Julian Nagelsmann, at 38 the youngest coach at this World Cup, was overall satisfied but also pointed out weaknesses: "Da waren wir zu statisch. Dinge, die wir besser machen müssen." Defensive recovery against counterattacks in particular needed to be organized more quickly, "gerade gegen stärkere Gegner wie die Elfenbeinküste mit ihren schnellen Außenstürmern". The Spanish sports reporter AS also criticized defensive wobbles: "Deutschland hat zwar gewonnen, aber nicht überzeugt in der Abwehr." The Madrid paper jokingly called Curaçao "Mandarina Mecánica" – "Uhrwerk-Oranje".

Nagelsmann sees room for improvement

Despite the clear numbers, the match also had a psychological dimension. Germany had lost its last two World Cup openers in 2018 (0–1 against Mexico) and 2022 (1–2 against Japan), failing to get out of the group stage on both occasions. DFB sporting director Rudi Völler had stressed before the tournament: "Die Mannschaft brennt. Wir werden ein richtig gutes Spiel zeigen, davon bin ich überzeugt." DFB president Bernd Neuendorf added: "Es kommt jetzt darauf an, dass wir die Vorrunde gut überstehen, gute Ergebnisse haben." With the opening win, the Germans have at least taken an important step in that direction.

Reactions from the international press were cautiously positive. The Italian Gazzetta dello Sport spoke of a "Deutschen Lawine", while Spain's Marca recalled the disappointments of 2018 and 2022: "vor allem, wenn man bei den letzten beiden Auflagen blamiert wurde und jeweils bereits in der Vorrunde ausgeschieden ist". L'Equipe of France noted a "leichten Auftaktsieg" for the favorite against the debutant. The English tabloid press was less delicate: The Sun resorted to a drastic image and compared the match to the dark fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm: "sorgte die Mannschaft von Julian Nagelsmann dafür, dass es kein Happy End geben würde".

Voices from fans and officials

Deniz Undav, who scored after coming on, set the tone for the upcoming tasks: "Wenn ich sagen würde, ich will ins Achtelfinale kommen, dann wäre ich falsch hier." The mood among German fans was also exuberant. Fan Dennis put it in a nutshell: "Es ist eine WM und wenn du sieben Tore im deutschen Eröffnungsspiel schießt, dann geht nicht mehr. Die Freude ist grenzenlos." His namesake Kai added: "Das 7:1 tut der Mannschaft gut. Wir müssen zusammenstehen. Die Mannschaft und die Fans und dann gucken wir mal, wohin der Weg geht."

For the team and the coaching staff, things now move quickly on. The team has a day off on Tuesday, with a recovery session scheduled for Monday. The players' families are expected to visit the German World Cup base in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on Monday after training. The concrete preparation for the second group match on 20 June in Toronto against Ivory Coast, who face Ecuador in Philadelphia at the same time Germany plays, then begins. At a tournament in which 48 teams compete for the first time and the eight best third-placed teams also advance to the round of 16, it is a matter of confirming the performance shown.

Outlook: Ivory Coast awaits on 20 June

Nagelsmann drew a positive conclusion the day after the match in a ZDF interview with Lili Engels: "Insgesamt bin ich sehr zufrieden. Sieben Tore muss man erst einmal machen. Curacao hatte nichts zu verlieren und sie haben auch sehr gut gespielt. Nach dem Ausgleich ist die Mannschaft sehr gut damit umgegangen." Regarding Jamal Musiala, who was substituted during the game, the