Germany beat Curaçao with 7 goals on World Cup opener as Curacao made their debut & scored the 1st goal.
2026 World Cup
7-1
Match Report
Germany started their World Cup Group E campaign with an emphatic 7-1 win over debutants Curacao.
Julian Nagelsmann's side had to overcome a slightly nervy period in the first half, but after Curacao got their first-ever goal at the tournament, Germany got the job done in style.
Felix Nmecha got the scoring started after just six minutes, playing a lovely one-two with Florian Wirtz before bending a lovely shot around his marker.
But Curacao flipped the script in the 21st minute; Livano Comenencia's defence-splitting pass was blocked, and he ran onto the loose ball with his shot deflecting past Manuel Neuer, securing his place in the history books.
Nico Schlotterbeck had already given Curacao a warning from a set-piece, and they did not heed it. In the 37th minute, he restored Germany's lead, glancing Nathaniel Brown's corner past Eloy Room.
Nmecha then won a penalty after Riechedly Bazoer needlessly caught him late in the box, with Kai Havertz coolly slotting in the resulting spot-kick on the stroke of half-time.
Jamal Musiala added Germany's fourth just two minutes after the break, slotting in from a tight angle, before Leandro Bacuna was denied by the offside flag at the other end.
Moments later, Brown netted a debut goal, brilliantly meeting Deniz Undav's flick to volley his shot in after 68 minutes, before the striker went from provider to scorer as he squeezed a shot past Bacuna on the line.
But Germany were not done yet, with Havertz latching onto Kimmich's throughball to dink a lovely shot over Room to secure a familiar scoreline for them at the World Cup.
#fifaworldcup #dfbteam DFB/Max Galys pic.twitter.com/HvJtAecjso
— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team) June 14, 2026
Germany in seventh heaven once again
Germany have now won each of their last 10 matches in all competitions; only once in the history of the German Football Association (DFB) have they ever had a longer run (in 1979 to 1980, they achieved 12 consecutive victories).
At 05:17, Nmecha scored the quickest goal by a Germany player on his first-ever World Cup start since Philipp Lahm v Costa Rica in 2006 (05:08).
But it was not plain sailing for Germany in the opening stages as Curacao gave their fans something to celebrate, though they could not hold out for long.
Germany's 16 shots were the most by any side in the first half of a World Cup match since Ivory Coast v Serbia in 2006 (also 16), and that pressure eventually told as they held a 3-1 lead at the break.
They eventually finished with 26 shots worth 3.9 expected goals (xG), getting 12 of those on target, with Curacao mustering just 0.4 xG from eight attempts.
Curacao are not the first team to be on the end of a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany, but this is the heaviest defeat suffered by a debuting team in the competition since South Korea beat Hungary 9-0 in 1954.
Line-ups
Germany XI: Neuer, Kimmich, Tah, Sane, Havertz, Schlotterbeck, Nmecha, Musiala, Wirtz, Pavlovic, Nathaniel Brown
Subs: Oliver Baumann, Gross, Rudiger, Goretzka, Amiri, Anton, Alexander Nübel, David Raum, Deniz Undav, Angelo Stiller, Malick Thiaw, Beier, Nick Woltemade, Jamie Leweling, Assan Ouédraogo
Curacao XI: Eloy Room, Leandro Bacuna, Jürgen Locadia, Bazoer, Sherel Floranus, Juninho Bacuna, Armando Obispo, Chong, Sontje Hansen, Livano Comenencia, Deveron Fonville
Subs: Joshua Brenet, Brandley Kuwas, Gervane Kastaneer, Kenji Gorré, Juriën Gaari, Trevor Doornbusch, Kevin Felida, Roshon van Eijma, Godfried Roemeratoe, Jeremy Antonisse, Shurandy Sambo, Tyrick Bodak, Ar'jany Martha, Jearl Margaritha, Tyrese Noslin