The tiny Caribbean island of Curacao suffered a brutal introduction to football’s grandest stage on Sunday, falling 7-1 to four-time champions Germany in their opening Group E match in Houston. Yet the mood in the dugout, remarkably, was not one of humiliation but of stubborn pride. Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old Dutchman who became the oldest head coach ever to take charge at a World Cup finals, told his players they had no cause for shame and urged them to transform the experience into “a beautiful tournament”. The scoreline, he conceded, fell far below expectations, but the very act of competing at this level represented a triumph for a nation of just 150,000 people.

For a fleeting moment, the impossible seemed plausible. After Felix Nmecha headed Germany in front, Curacao’s Livano Comenencia swept in a crisp equaliser that sent Advocaat leaping from his seat. The Caribbean side’s resistance, however, dissolved in a cascade of German goals. Nico Schlotterbeck restored the lead, Kai Havertz struck twice, and further strikes from Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav turned a contest into a procession. Viewed from Berlin, the result was a routine flexing of muscle by a tournament heavyweight; from Willemstad, it was a painful but essential rite of passage.

Indonesian media, which followed the match with keen interest given Advocaat’s history in Asian football, captured the dual nature of the occasion. Reports from Jakarta emphasised that the coach “still sees the positive side” and quoted his belief that Curacao can “still make surprises in the second and third matches”. The sentiment resonated across the Caribbean press as well, where the debut itself was framed as a historic milestone rather than a sporting disaster. Advocaat, who admitted to being emotional before kick-off, has positioned the defeat as a foundation, not a verdict.

European analysts note that Germany’s clinical second half exposed the vast gulf in resources and experience, but they also acknowledge the symbolic weight of Curacao’s presence. The island, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, has leveraged its diaspora connections to assemble a competitive squad, and Advocaat’s side still harbour ambitions of advancing from a group that also includes Japan and New Zealand. The coach’s insistence that “we don’t need to be ashamed” is more than bravado; it is a calculated effort to shield his players from the psychological damage that can derail a minnow’s campaign.

Looking ahead, Curacao’s path to the knockout stage is steep but not mathematically closed. Advocaat’s faith in a turnaround rests on the unpredictability of tournament football and the possibility that his team, now relieved of debut nerves, can perform with greater freedom. Whether that optimism proves well-founded or merely defiant will become clear in their next fixture, but for now the island’s first World Cup chapter is written in both heavy defeat and unbroken spirit.