Curaçao lost their World Cup debut 7-1 to Germany in Houston on Sunday. Livano Comenencia's 21st-minute equaliser briefly levelled the Group E tie. Germany then ran in six more goals, with Kai Havertz scoring twice.
Curaçao lost their World Cup debut 7-1 to Germany in Houston on Sunday. Livano Comenencia's 21st-minute equaliser briefly levelled the Group E tie. Germany then ran in six more goals, with Kai Havertz scoring twice.
Curaçao stayed level with Germany for barely half an hour. Livano Comenencia curled past Manuel Neuer in the 21st minute to make it 1-1, the first World Cup goal in the island's history. Germany answered through Kai Havertz, who scored twice, with Felix Nmecha, Jamal Musiala, Nico Schlotterbeck, Deniz Undav, and Nathaniel Brown also on the scoresheet. The four-time champions pulled away in the second half to finish 7-1.
Dick Advocaat, the 78-year-old Dutchman in charge of Curaçao, was seen wiping away tears before kick-off. He set his side up to attack rather than sit deep.
"Just defending will definitely lead to defeat so we tried to play more offensively, but it didn't work on all fronts," Advocaat said.
He insisted his players had nothing to be ashamed of. "We had expected to do more against Germany, but we could not. They were very, very strong, and we conceded some easy goals," he said. "Players know if they lose, they should not be downcast. This is not a disgrace."
Advocaat said his emotion was tied to what the tournament means back home. "This is related to the joy of the people in Curacao. This is when the emotions come to the surface. The joy of the people is fantastic," he said. He also argued the gap was narrower than the score, suggesting "a 1-4 score would have been a fairer assessment of the situation".
Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann welcomed the margin. "We really needed this convincing win," he said. "We needed this self-confidence. It was there, but it definitely grew."
The result puts Curaçao bottom of Group E after one match. They are the smallest country by population and land area ever to play at a World Cup, with around 156,000 residents and a squad in which 25 of the 26 players were born and raised in the Netherlands.
Advocaat, who managed the Netherlands, South Korea, and others before Curaçao, took 22 matches in charge in the tournament, winning 12. His pre-match prediction that the island could "steal some points" did not survive the second half.
Advocaat is already looking past the defeat. "We need to turn this into a beautiful tournament. We can have a surprise in the second and third matches. In the end, we will be glad we were part of the biggest football tournament in the world," he said.
Curaçao will face Ecuador on 20 June in Kansas City, then the Ivory Coast on 25 June in Philadelphia.
