Germany kicked off their Group E campaign at the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a dominant 7-1 victory over debutants CuraÇao, overcoming a brief first-half scare to seal a convincing win.
Felix Nmecha opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a well-worked one-two involving Florian Wirtz before curling a fine finish past the defence. However, CuraÇao made history in the 21st minute when Livano Comenencia capitalised on a loose ball and saw his effort deflect past Manuel Neuer for their first-ever World Cup goal.
Germany quickly regained control as Nico Schlotterbeck restored the lead in the 37th minute, heading in from a corner delivered by Nathaniel Brown. Just before halftime, Nmecha won a penalty after a foul by Riechedly Bazoer, which Kai Havertz
calmly converted.
After the break, Germany pulled away with Jamal Musiala adding a fourth, followed by goals from Brown and Deniz Undav, who both scored and assisted. Havertz capped off the rout late on, finishing neatly from a through ball by Joshua Kimmich to complete a comprehensive performance.
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Germany extended their winning streak to 10 matches across all competitions, a run only surpassed once in their history when they recorded 12 consecutive victories between 1979 and 1980.
Felix Nmecha made an immediate impact, scoring just over five minutes into the game - the fastest goal by a German player on their first World Cup start since Philipp Lahm netted in 2006.
Despite Germany's early dominance, CuraÇao had their moment, briefly unsettling the favourites before being overwhelmed. Germany's attacking intent was evident from the outset, registering 16 shots in the first half - the joint-highest in a World Cup opening half since Ivory Coast faced Serbia in 2006 - and taking a 3-1 lead into the break.
The pressure only intensified after halftime, with Germany finishing the match with 26 attempts and an expected goals (xG) value of 3.9, including 12 shots on target. In contrast, CuraÇao managed just eight efforts with a modest 0.4 xG.
While Germany have recorded 7-1 victories before, this result stands out as the heaviest defeat suffered by a World Cup debutant since South Korea's 9-0 win over Hungary in 1954.
