Germany's opening night at the NRG Stadium was supposed to be a routine examination of the gap between a four-time world champion and a Caribbean nation making their World Cup finals debut. It was all of that, and then some. The final score of 7-1 tells you everything and nothing simultaneously: the remarkable subplot is that Curaçao were level at 1-1 inside 21 minutes and, for a brief, improbable stretch, looked as though they might keep this genuinely competitive. Germany had other ideas, and the second half produced a procession that will echo through Group E for weeks.
Felix Nmecha settled any opening nerves within six minutes, converting after Florian Wirtz picked him out to put Julian Nagelsmann's side in front at the NRG Stadium in Houston. Curaçao, to their enormous credit, did not immediately buckle. Livano Comenencia equalised on 21 minutes, and for a moment Dick Advocaat's side had a real foothold in a World Cup finals match. That moment lasted 17 minutes. Nico Schlotterbeck, the centre-back, restored Germany's lead on 38 minutes, meeting a delivery from the left by Nathaniel Brown to make it 2-1. Then, deep into first-half stoppage time, Kai Havertz converted from the spot to give Germany a 3-1 cushion they were fully equipped to build upon after the interval.
The second half was more execution than contest. Jamal Musiala, sharp and direct throughout his time on the pitch, added a fourth two minutes after the restart with Joshua Kimmich providing the assist. That goal, scored barely before Curaçao's players had gathered themselves for the second period, ended the match as a meaningful contest. The visitors had managed only two shots on target across the whole afternoon; by the hour mark they were conceding territory rather than threatening to reclaim any of it.
Nagelsmann turned to his bench and the replacements made themselves felt immediately. Deniz Undav, given 30 minutes, provided two assists and scored one himself, racking up direct goal involvements on 68, 78 and 88 minutes. Brown, the young left-back whose first half had already yielded an assist and a goal-threat run, bundled in Germany's fifth on 68 after Undav's pass. Ten minutes later, Undav finished from Kimmich's delivery to make it six. Havertz then rounded off the evening with his second, this time supplied by Undav, to complete the 7-1 scoreline.
Germany's expected-goals figure of 3.90 suggests the margin owed as much to volume as to clinical finishing: 21 of their 26 attempts came from inside the box and they kept the ball for 65 per cent of the match. Curaçao's xG sat at 0.40, which makes Comenencia's equaliser a minor act of statistical defiance as much as anything else. Eloy Room made four saves in the Curaçao goal to prevent the margin reaching double figures, and that detail alone captures the tone of the second half adequately.
Manuel Neuer was required for a single save across 94 minutes. Curaçao had shown enough organisation in the first half-hour to suggest Dick Advocaat's side will not collapse without resistance in their remaining fixtures. But the quality gap, exposed methodically as Germany's attacking players found their rhythm, was wide and ultimately decisive.
Germany lead Group E after matchday one with a goal difference of plus six, a figure that Ivory Coast and Ecuador, both still to play their opening games, will not have ignored. Curaçao have two matches remaining in which to find something substantially better. On this evidence, they will require it.