Houston, home of NASA’s mission control, hosted Germany’s 2026 World Cup opener against Curaçao, and the four-time world champions have lift off!
Despite some warning lights after Curaçao’s 21st-minute equalizer, Germany steadied course and avoided implosion, replying with six unanswered goals to keep their World Cup mission on track.
These were the standout performers in Germany’s 7-1 victory.
Jersey Swap: Livano Comenencia
Curaçao footballing history has Comenencia’d!
The 22-year-old right-back turned midfielder scored Curaçao’s
first ever World Cup goal, capitalizing on a complacent, sloppy German defense. Comenencia was part of every — albeit few — Curaçao attacks, completing one key pass in the process.
While Comenencia’s goal proved to be inconsequential, the joy he brought to thousands of Curaçao supporters was certainly not.
Der Kaiser: Nathaniel Brown
World, meet Nathaniel Brown.
There was a time where Germany’s left-back position was hotly contested. David Raum and Maximilian Mittelstädt often traded places under Nagelsmann, but both failed to lock down the position for themselves ahead of the World Cup. Mittelstädt was left back home — pun intended — while Raum finds himself warming the bench, both for one important reason: Nathaniel Brown.
The 22-year old continued his electric form from Eintracht Frankfurt by scoring and assisting in his World Cup debut. His goal contributions were just the cherries on top of an all-round solid performance from one of Germany’s brightest talents.
Bayern Munich better close the deal for Brown soon, because his value is going to continue to skyrocket every time he sets foot on a football pitch.
Fußballgott: Jamal Musiala
Jamal Musiala is back!
Musiala was the talk of the town coming into Germany’s World Cup opener against Curaçao. Should he start? Shouldn’t he? Well, Nagelsmann stuck to his guns and started the 23-year-old attacker at the behest of German legends, Lothar Matthäus and Thomas Müller, and thank fate he did.
After a season spending months on the sideline, recovering from injury and finding his feet, Musiala has been a step slower and lacked confidence, a far cry from his usual self. But against Curaçao, he was almost back at his brilliant best.
Nimble, quick-footed, and a menace on the ball, Musiala gave the Curaçao defense all sorts of problems they just couldn’t solve. Moose’s 47th-minute goal may seem insignificant among Germany’s six others, but the implications of what it will do for his confidence cannot be understated — and if Germany want any chance at World Cup glory, they’ll need Musiala firing on all cylinders.
Der Bomber: Deniz Undav
Talk about an impact sub.
Julian Nagelsmann criticized Undav ahead of the world cup, implying the 29-year-old only scored because he came on fresh against a defense with tired legs. Well, Undav didn’t exactly help his case against Curaçao. He came off the bench in the 64th minute, scored one goal and set two more up.
Hear me out: Nagelsmann might actually be a genius. Naturally, after receiving that criticism, Undav wanted to prove his manager wrong, making him hungry to showcase his quality on the pitch. So what does he do? Well, he tries to prove Nagelsmann wrong by coming off the bench and contributing to a flurry of goals… which actually proves Nagelsmann’s super-sub theory entirely right. Well played, Julian, well played.
Jokes aside, starting or coming off the bench, Undav proved once again that he is an extremely useful tool in Germany’s attacking toolkit
Meister of the Match: Felix Nmecha
Felix Nmecha was moving like prime Paul Pogba.
One goal scored, another set up after drawing a penalty from Riechedly Bazoer, and the primary source of Curaçao’s midfield misery, Nmecha was a surprising standout for Julian Nagelsmann’s Germany side. The Borussia Dortmund midfielder combined physicality with grace, controlling the middle of the park and providing a contender for goal of the tournament.
Germany’s midfield is in safe hands.
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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