By USUKON DANIEL
Germany opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign in emphatic fashion on Sunday, beating debutants Curacao 7–1 in their Group E opener in Houston.
The four-time world champions controlled possession from the outset and created sustained pressure on the Curacao defence.
Felix Nmecha gave Germany the lead, before Livano Comenencia briefly restored parity for Curacao.
Germany responded decisively, with Kai Havertz scoring twice as the European side reasserted control of the match.
Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav also scored in a dominant team performance that left Curacao with little response after the opening exchanges.
The result marks Germany’s first opening-match victory at a World Cup since 2014, when they went on to win the tournament.
For Curacao, the match marked their World Cup debut, despite the heavy defeat.