4 min learnUp to date: Jun 15, 2026 08:56 AM IST
Earlier than the World Cup started, a video of the Curacao staff went viral. In it, the gamers are arriving in an old school blue college bus with no home windows, gamers sticking their arms out and banging away on the metallic exterior from the surface. The video was meant to painting the down-to-earth vibe of the staff headed to its first ever World Cup.
“That’s who we’re and all the time will probably be: infectious enthusiasm, pleasure, carefree spirit, and worry of nobody,” Livano Comenencia informed La Gazzetta dello Sport in an interview.
On Sunday, all of these qualities had been on show from the smallest nation ever to compete within the FIFA World Cup.
AS IT HAPPENED | Germany vs Curacao, FIFA World Cup 2026
Going through Germany of their World Cup opener, Curacao had been dreaming of their marketing campaign withdrawing in Houston, the area capital of the USA. For a short part, followers and gamers even dared to daydream of an upset over Germany. By no means thoughts that the World No 82 ranked nation was enjoying the first-ever sport within the nation’s historical past on the FIFA World Cup or that its opponents have received the occasion 4 instances. By no means thoughts that it’s a tiny island within the Caribbean which got here into being solely in 2011 with a inhabitants of simply over 1,58,000 inhabitants and a land space of 171 sq. miles (nearly half of Berlin).
As Curacao coach Dick Advocaat put it succinctly, “We’re only a small city in comparison with Germany and the opposite opponents.”
For a couple of minutes on Sunday, the small city dared to dream about beating Germany. Or at the very least holding them to a draw. Within the twenty first minute of the Germany versus Curacao sport, Comenencia curled the ball previous the not too long ago un-retired Manuel Neuer to equalise at 1-1.
Livano Comenencia celebrates after scoring for Curacao throughout their World Cup Group E match in opposition to Germany. (AP Picture)
Regardless of the aspect being apparent underdogs, Curacao was arrange by veteran supervisor Dick Advocaat to go on the offensive.
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As Advocaat defined their philosophy later: “Simply defending will certainly result in defeat so we tried to play extra offensively, however it didn’t work on all fronts.” Advocaat, who, on the age of 78 is the oldest ever World Cup supervisor, was seen wiping tears from his eyes earlier than kick-off, overcome by the event.
For lots of the gamers too the journey’s been a Cinderella story. Earlier than they made it to the World Cup, they’d phases of administrative chaos with the federation that led to logistical nightmares. Gamers needed to fork out for his or her flight tickets and lodge rooms. Pitches weren’t all the time in the most effective form. And in opposition to Germany, they had been enjoying on the state-of-the-art NRG Stadium, with a retractable roof and stadium-wide air-con when the temperatures received insufferable.
“Bbefore the World Cup) We confronted a number of obstacles: pitches that weren’t all the time good, points with flights and journey, numerous communication issues with accommodations the place bookings had been cancelled,” Comenencia had informed La Gazzetta dello Sport.
However on the air-conditioned NRG Stadium all these hardships had been left prior to now. Curacao’s first ever World Cup purpose had the gamers and the followers delirious. When Comenencia scored, they might have thought they might at the very least take house a degree, if no more. That resistance lasted until 38 minutes.
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Then the floodgates opened as Germany inflicted one other 7-1 scoreline in a FIFA World Cup sport.
Kai Havertz scored twice with Felix Nmecha, Jamal Musiala, Nico Schlotterbeck, Deniz Undav and Nathaniel Brown additionally scoring. The Germans attacked relentlessly, prefer it was a coaching sport with one set of gamers requested to assault and the opposite required to defend.
“We actually wanted this convincing win,” Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann mentioned on the post-match press convention. “We would have liked this self-confidence. It was there however it positively grew.”
Nagelsmann was referring to Germany’s lack of ability to make it previous the group stage in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 following their World Cup triumph in 2014.
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“We’ve got to point out our followers that we will carry out and we now have to believe. I believe we’re in a greater spot than we had been coming into this match.”