Germany Crushes Curaçao 7-1 in Record-Setting World Cup Opener

Germany opened the 2026 World Cup with a dominant 7-1 victory over Curaçao, a result that quickly entered the record books. The goals came from Nmecha, Schlotterbeck, Havertz twice, Musiala, Brown and Undav, in what was described as a clear statement of intent from the Mannschaft.

German media celebrated the win with headlines such as Bild’s, “Houston, we have no problem,” while Sport1 called it a “record-breaking victory.” Local coverage noted that Germany was strong but had to work for the result, especially in the first half, when Dick Advocaat’s Curaçao side fought well and even scored a surprise goal. Germany needed creativity, and eventually set pieces, to break through.

After halftime, Germany increased its control as Curaçao’s concentration faded. The match statistics reflected the imbalance, with Germany taking 27 shots to Curaçao’s 8. Substitute Undav stood out with two assists and a goal.

The win was Germany’s first opening-match victory since 2014. It was only the sixth time in history that Germany had six different scorers in one match, with Havertz the only player to score twice. The last time any team had six different scorers was Spain’s 7-0 win over Costa Rica in Qatar. Germany’s all-time benchmark for different scorers in one game remains Yugoslavia’s seven scorers in a 9-0 win over Zaire in 1974.