Germany Bags Seven Against Curacao, Still Looks Shaky At The Back

Julian Nagelsmann’s crew kicked off their World Cup journey in Houston, 68,021 suckers in the stands. Felix Nmecha wasted no time, curling one in six minutes deep. Easy.

Then Curacao, the island nation of 160,000 souls – smallest ever to grace a World Cup, mind you – decided they weren’t just here to pose for photos. Livano Comenencia actually leveled it in the 21st minute. A goal. Their first ever World Cup goal. For a fleeting second, they were legends. That's it.

Germany shrugged. Nico Schlotterbeck nodded them ahead again. Kai Havertz, naturally, banged in a penalty right before halftime. Jamal Musiala, off a Joshua Kimmich dime, made it four a mere 47 seconds into the second half. Nathaniel Brown then hammered a volley from left-back after a Denis Undav flick. Undav himself, off the bench, chipped in another. Havertz then put the cherry on top. Seven.

The German attack, with Florian Wirtz pulling strings alongside Musiala and Leroy Sané, looked sharp. Dangerous. But don’t get carried away by the scoreline. Someone noted Germany looked “a little vulnerable at the back.” A crack against the weakest opponent? Not exactly confidence-inspiring for the knockout rounds.

Sure, 7-1 looks rough for Curacao. But they showed up. They even scored. Small victories, I guess.