Germany launched their bid for a fifth World Cup title with a familiar, devastating scoreline, overpowering tournament debutants Curaçao 7-1 at Houston’s NRG Stadium on Sunday. The result instantly recalled the Mannschaft’s iconic semi-final evisceration of Brazil in 2014, and it followed a similar pattern after an early wobble. Felix Nmecha struck in the sixth minute, but Livano Comenencia equalised for the Caribbean side in the 26th minute, scoring Curaçao’s first ever World Cup goal. The parity was fleeting. Nico Schlotterbeck headed Germany back in front before half-time, and Kai Havertz converted a penalty in first-half stoppage time to make it 3-1. Jamal Musiala added a fourth shortly after the interval, before further goals from Nathaniel Brown, substitute Deniz Undav and Havertz again completed the rout.

The scoreline, however, concealed the significance of the moment for Curaçao, an island nation of barely 150,000 people that has never before reached football’s grandest stage. Their qualification for the expanded 48-team tournament was a remarkable achievement, and Comenencia’s strike ensured they will not leave the competition empty-handed. For Germany, the emphatic victory was a statement of intent after the humiliations of 2018 and 2022, when they lost opening matches to Mexico and Japan respectively and failed to advance from the group phase on both occasions. This Group E opener immediately places them in command, exorcising demons that lingered from those campaigns.

Viewed from Berlin, the performance offered reassurance that the structural reforms initiated after the Qatar debacle are bearing fruit, with a blend of youthful energy and experienced composure. From Willemstad, the result was sobering but not unexpected; the gulf in resources and pedigree was brutally exposed. North American audiences, meanwhile, witnessed the first genuinely lopsided result of a tournament whose expanded field has sparked debate about competitive balance. Analysts in London and elsewhere noted that such mismatches, while rare in early group stages, are likely to recur as the 48-team model beds in.

Germany now sit atop Group E and can approach their remaining fixtures with confidence, targeting an early ticket to the knockout rounds that eluded them in Russia and Qatar. Curaçao, for their part, must regroup quickly; further heavy defeats would risk demoralising a squad that has already achieved its nation’s wildest dreams. The broader tournament narrative will watch whether this opening salvo signals a genuine German resurgence or simply the predictable crushing of a minnow. For one night, however, the four-time champions looked every inch a contender, while Curaçao savoured a moment of history even in the shadow of a harrowing defeat.