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Germany overpowered tournament debutants Curacao to begin their World Cup campaign with a dominant 7-1 victory — but only after the tiny Caribbean island enjoyed a famous moment and briefly threatened an upset.
When Livano Comenencia cancelled out Felix Nmecha's excellent opener midway through the first half, there were wild scenes of celebration among those fans of The Blue Wave who had managed to get tickets for the game at the NRG Stadium in Houston.
Ranked 82nd in the world and with a population of just over 150,000, any kind of positive result against the four-time winners would have been one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.
But Germany — helped by the hydration break (more on that below) — kept their composure and were 3-1 up by the break thanks to Nico Schlotterbeck's header and a Kai Havertz penalty.
Second-half strikes from Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown, Deniz Undav and a second from Havertz wrapped things up for Julian Nagelsmann's side.
The size of the victory means Germany take a commanding early lead in Group E, with Ivory Coast and Ecuador meeting later.
Seb Stafford-Bloor, Chris Waugh, Nick Miller and Chris Branch analyse the key talking points.
Did Germany look like a team that can go far?
Did we learn anything about whether Germany can be genuine contenders at this tournament? I'm not sure we were ever going to, really. Instead, this game confirmed everything we knew prior to kick-off: Nagelsmann has some decadently-gifted playmakers who can dovetail beautifully, but his team have a brittle quality at the back that makes them vulnerable.
In his recent column for The Athletic, Philipp Lahm expressed his concern that Germany did not defend well enough as a team and that to go far at the World Cup, they would have to become more compact without the ball and better at suppressing counter-attacks. Curacao proved him right; even with their disadvantages, they were able to mine chances on the break and, prior to the first-half hydration break, looked relatively dangerous.
Imagine what a stronger team might have done? This is a systemic gremlin that the Germans just cannot seem to get rid of. They lack the outstanding individual quality they used to have in certain positions but it's more than that; it's a team-wide problem.
At the other end of the pitch, things were much more promising. Florian Wirtz, Musiala and Havertz combined nicely, with plenty of flair, and Nmecha, beyond just his goal, showed what a problem he can be in attacking situations. It was a nice blend, and subduing this side will be a challenge for most teams at the tournament.
But there's work to do here, certainly.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Did Curacao just give us one of the moments of the World Cup?
Curacao's players celebrate their goal against Germany (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
For 17 minutes, Curacao — and a global audience of neutral observers — dared to dream.
Having been battered for the first 19 minutes, barely leaving their own half, a first foray forwards and a wild shot from Leandro Bacuna suddenly gave the minnows a boost of confidence. Two minutes later, Curacao got in behind Germany down the right and Jurgen Locadia's initial effort was blocked.
But the German defensive intervention was not decisive. Instead, the ball ricocheted into space, allowing Comenencia to fire in a fierce low effort that Joshua Kimmich inadvertently deflected out of Manuel Neuer's reach.
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It was arguably the moment of the World Cup so far, given its historical significance and the gargantuan gap in pedigree between the two nations.
The equaliser bolstered Curacao’s belief and, for a quarter of an hour, really unsettled Germany. Although Curacao struggled to carve out further clear-cut chances, they did make life uncomfortable for Nagelsmann’s side.
Defending set pieces was a struggle throughout, however, and Schlotterbeck had looked dangerous before he restored Germany’s lead with a header in the 38th minute.
The second half turned into what many had feared — a procession that suggested Curacao simply cannot compete at this level — but there were glimpses of genuine positivity immediately following their leveller. Dick Advocaat must accentuate those positives if Curacao are going to have any chance of sneaking through.
Clearly, Curacao’s path to the last 32 will be challenging after a defeat of this scale, even in what looks to be a relatively open Group E.
But for Curacao to even be at the finals is an historic achievement. The island in the Caribbean sea only became a nation in 2011 — following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles. The debutants are the smallest nation ever to reach a World Cup.
Chris Waugh
Was this the clearest case yet of a hydration break affecting momentum?
The impact of the FIFA-mandated hydration breaks, effectively turning games into four quarters rather than two halves, has been a theme of this World Cup so far.
The fear has been that it will create artificial and disruptive moments that could have a material impact on the game, allowing a team that has been under pressure to reset and regroup, or kill the momentum of a side that had been on top.
This game saw the most obvious example of that so far. For the first 15 minutes, Germany were so far ahead that you feared a thrashing was imminent, Curacao to be four or five down at half-time and the whole spectacle essentially killed. But then the first-timers got back into the game and equalised.
And then came the hydration break: three minutes where everyone stood around and drank water when we could have been watching Curacao build on their first World Cup goal.
This graphic, taken at half-time and so showing the interval score of 3-1, highlights how momentum drifted away from Curacao after the hydration break
It would be a stretch to say that it was this interlude that prevented Curacao from achieving an incredibly unlikely upset: the Germans' class ultimately told and the final scoreline was not an unfair reflection of the overall play.
But still, we're left with a tantalising ‘what could have been?', denied the chance to see what might have happened, rather than an ostensibly routine win for one of the contenders to lift the trophy.
Nick Miller
Was Brown the pick of Germany’s players?
Among the most positive German performances, Brown's stood out. He was picked ahead of RB Leipzig's David Raum because of his capacity to invert — meaning to play away from his touchline, in the more central areas.
The advantage with this is it gives Germany an extra midfielder when in possession and an additional attacking player who could enter the opposition's defensive third. His goal, Germany's fifth, was reward for a fine performance and vindication for Nagelsmann's decision to select him. The quality of his attacking set pieces was another bonus. If corners and free kicks help decide this tournament, as they are expected to, then Germany look really well equipped.
Elsewhere, the Nmecha-Aleksandar Pavlovic pivot in midfield worked well, offering a nice balance between the latter's orchestrating control and the former's more ambitious raids. Ahead of them, Musiala and Wirtz functioned nicely as a roaming pair in attacking midfield. Neither has been in good form recently and while this was an opponent they had been expected to dominate, it was still encouraging to see how influential they ultimately were.
That Musiala goal just after half-time might matter in the bigger picture. Given how low his confidence has been — low enough for former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to call for him to be dropped for this game — this was a timely reminder of his quality that, hopefully, sets him up for the tournament everyone hoped he would have before he suffered a terrible injury last year.
Seb Stafford-Bloor
Curacao’s WWE-inspired celebration
Livano Comenencia rolls out his WWE-inspired celebration (Getty Images)
Curacao right-back Comenencia’s goal was beautiful in both form — a fortuitous strike through the heart of Germany's defense — and history, a first World Cup goal for his country. How did he celebrate? An iconic WWE move.
John Cena, arguably WWE's most famous wrestler, waves his hands in front of his face while telling an opponent: “You can't see me.” A simple yet effective diss. I'd say Comenencia chose well, as German keeper Neuer did not see his shot well enough to get a hand on it.
Chris Branch
