Four-time winners Germany avoided an almighty scare in their World Cup opener, eventually running out comfortable 7-1 winners after being pegged back by tournament debutants Curacao in Houston.
Kai Havertz scored a brace, while goals from Felix Nmecha, Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathanial Brown and Deniz Undav secured a comprehensive victory for Julian Nagelsmann’s men, who firmly banished painful memories of recent opening day defeat to the annals of history.
Curacao, the smallest-ever nation to qualify for the finals, carved out their own slice of history when Livano Comenencia scored the team’s first World Cup goal to equalise after 21 minutes.
But in the end, the Europeans ensured a shock wasn’t to be on the cards and instead sent a statement of intent to the rest of the competition.
A history-making first-half
It took just over five minutes for the Germans to have lift-off in Houston. Receiving the ball from Florian Wirtz, Nmecha curled a fine first-time finish into the bottom corner to give the Europeans an early lead.
Nmecha went close to a second moments later, rifling an effort that fizzed just past the post as Germany piled on the pressure from the off.
Leroy Sane then poked wide before Wirtz bent a shot the wrong side of the goal. But just as Die Mannschaft were looking to extend their advantage in a bid to avoid a third-straight World Cup opening game defeat and banish memories of recent failures, Curacao ripped up the script by drawing level.
Benefitting from the ball dropping in a fortunate area, Comenencia rifled home courtesy of a minor deflection to beat the sprawling Manuel Neuer and send shockwaves throughout the competition.
The Curacao players and supporters alike were jubilant. All of a sudden, the German defence was looking frail.
Chances then fell to both Sane and Schlotterbeck, but Advocaat’s men – full of confidence after scoring their first-ever World Cup goal – were holding firm against their European opposition.
But seven minutes before half-time, Germany regained their lead courtesy of Schlotterbeck, who nodded home from a corner to help settle the nerves of the four-time champions.
Any lingering fears of an upset were then extinguished when Nagelsmann’s side were awarded a spot-kick deep into first-half stoppage-time after Nmecha was brought down.
Havertz coolly found the net from 12 yards as Germany went into the break with some much-needed breathing space.
German dominance after the break
Within two minutes of the restart, Musiala added a fourth when he finished impressively from a tight angle following a pass from Joshua Kimmich.
From there, Germany predictably took the sting out of the tie. Sane wasted a glorious opportunity to add further sheen to the scoreline, but it mattered little.
Brown did find a fifth with just over 20 minutes remaining, the left-back firing home after finding himself in an advanced position up the field.
Curacao occasionally threatened but, with the contest all but over, they fell further behind when substitute Undav tapped in after being teed up by Kimmich and Havertz found a seventh with a delightful chipped finish.
