Germany opened the 2026 World Cup with a resounding 7-1 win over the tiny island nation of Curaçao. Six different players scored for Germany and could have easily been more if Leroy Sané hadn’t gone all Leroy Sané. Bayern Munich transfer target Nathaniel Brown had a solid performance, Felix Nmecha was smooth and electric, and the defense handled everything except a lucky deflection.
After a year of scoffing at World Cup prices, I finally broke down Saturday night at 11pm and bought lower bowl tickets
at $500 apiece which is either way too much or way too little depending on your perspective. Eight hours later, me and my 13-year old son were yawning in unison as we scarfed down our ceremonial breakfast at a small town Waffle House somewhere between Dallas and Houston.
As some of our longtime readers will recall, I did a similar game day review for the Club World Cup game last year (see below). Today’s piece is a bookend to that particular article to show how FIFA transferred the experience to the biggest stage in sports.
Pre-game info
- The ticketing process was a little different with FIFA bottlenecking the releases to increase demand. There really wasn’t anything available in the “Last-Minute Sales” category, despite the stadium ending up 5,000 seats short of full attendance.
- The FIFA Marketplace had lower prices compared to third-party vendors but the user interface made it nearly impossible to purchase on a phone. The sort feature was worthless as the user has to scroll over a section then select individual seats within the section that may or may not align with the prices quoted in the original scrolling.
- I was charged a 15% resale fee and I believe the seller also paid a matching amount.
- There were a few vendor sections set up outside the stadium but nothing incredible. The main attraction was the trailer hosting the FIFA World Cup store where the line was super long.
Inside the stadium
- The buzz building up to kickoff was incredible as we found our seats through a sea of food and beverage kiosks. Again, the FIFA World Cup pop-up stores grabbed the most attention. This was a vast improvement from the Club World Cup.
- There was a pair of emcees pumping up the crowd. This kept the energy high throughout warmups, along with native songs from the two countries.
- FIFA ditched the individual walkouts and instead brought every rostered player around the circle to sing the national anthems. Another big improvement.
- As you’ve seen on television, the massive flags on the pitch were a fantastic addition.
Notes from the match
- The first 21 minutes of action captivated the fans. There was a big cheer when Nmecha scored. There was an even bigger roar when Livano Comenencia scored.
- It turned out that about 80% of the fans (per my unscientific calculations) were basically neutrals just having a good time. As the talent gap on the pitch widened over 90 minutes, the fans focused mostly on refilling beverages, chatting with their neighbors, and making sure they didn’t miss the wave.
- We were sitting next to the main Germany supporter section in the north end. They stood the entire 90 minutes waving their flags but were relatively quiet. Nobody was leading chants besides the occasional slurred attempt from unwanted sources.
- There was an absurd amount of kits in the crowd completely unrelated to the match. Mexico, USMNT, New York Knicks, Cleveland Browns’ Odell Beckham, and by far the weirdest, the pope with a German-colored lei.
Conclusion
- There were some solid improvements to the logistics and entertainment around the stadium. This was a glaring weakness from the Club World Cup.
- The expansion to 48 teams will see more one-sided blowouts like this rather than matches like Qatar stealing a point from Switzerland.
- Pricing out native fans watered down the overall in-game experience. It felt more like a summer friendly rather than the rarified glory of a World Cup match.
Would I consider going to another game during this World Cup? Absolutely.
Was this a unique experience that warranted a high price tag? Not really.
Did I enjoy watching Germany win? Always.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
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