Germany sets a new World Cup scoring record as Curaçao makes history

Curaçao stunned Germany and the wider football world on Sunday by earning a 1-1 draw in its World Cup debut. The equalizer came in the 21st minute, and the tiny Caribbean nation became the smallest country ever to qualify for the tournament, with only 156,000 residents compared with Germany’s 93.8 million. That means 52 German cities have larger populations than the entire country of Curaçao.

Germany, unexpectedly under pressure in the first half, still finished with the result that made history for a different reason. The match ended 7-1, and with the four goals scored, Germany moved to the top of the all-time World Cup scoring list with 239 goals, one more than Brazil. It was the fourth 7-1 in World Cup history, with Germany responsible for two of them. Brazil recorded the scoreline against Sweden in 1950, and Italy did so against the United States in 1934.

Another record fell to Manuel Neuer, who at 40 years and 79 days became the oldest player ever to represent Germany at a major tournament, passing Lothar Matthäus, who was 39 years and 91 days old at Euro 2000. Neuer returned to the German goal for the first time in 710 days, since starting the Euro 2024 quarterfinal against Spain.

For Neuer, this was his ninth major tournament, including World Cups in 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026, and European Championships in 2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024. He also became the seventh-oldest player in World Cup history, while the overall record remains with Egypt’s Essam El Hadary, who played at age 45 years and 161 days.