Nagelsmann’s Three Shirts Steal the Spotlight in Germany’s 7-1 World Cup Rout
Julian Nagelsmann drew as much attention as Germany’s goals in their 2026 World Cup opener, changing shirts three times during a 7-1 demolition of Curacao. The coach started in black shorts and a Germany polo, switched at kickoff to a striped shirt, loose pants and sneakers, and later returned in a plain black T-shirt. After the match, he said the heat forced the first change and that the second shirt carried fans’ names on it to “reward them for the great atmosphere.”
Germany’s performance, though, quickly became the real story. After two straight World Cups in which they were eliminated in the group stage, the former champions began this tournament with a comfortable seven-goal win. The match was not one-sided from the start, as Curacao stunned Germany with an equalizer from Livano Comenencia, scoring the first World Cup goal in the country’s history. Nagelsmann said, “It was interesting to see how we dealt with the equalizer,” and added that Curacao played better than many in Germany expected.
The breakthrough came near the end of the first half, when Nico Schlotterbeck headed in the 2-1 lead and Kai Havertz converted a penalty to make it 3-1 before the break. Germany then pulled away completely. Nagelsmann said the team “controlled the game, created many chances and scored in different ways, from set pieces, possession play and counterattacks.”
The 7-1 result was only the fourth such scoreline in World Cup history. Germany now owns two of those wins, alongside Brazil’s 7-1 over Sweden in 1950 and Italy’s 7-1 over the United States in 1934. Manuel Neuer also made history, becoming the oldest player ever to represent Germany at a major tournament at 40 years and 79 days, surpassing Lothar Matthäus. It was his ninth major tournament and his first appearance in such a competition for 710 days, since the Euro 2024 quarterfinal against Spain. Neuer said he had “waited a very long time for this day” and was delighted to return with his teammates. Nathaniel Brown also stood out with a goal and assist in his World Cup debut.
