Kai Havertz was among the scorers as Germany recorded seven goals in their first game of the 2026 World Cup. Re-live the best facts and stats from this Group E opener with our Germany vs Curaçao stats page.
Germany started their 2026 World Cup campaign with an emphatic 7-1 win over debutants Curaçao in Group E.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side had to overcome a slightly nervy period in the first half, but after Curaçao scored their first-ever goal at the tournament, Germany got the job done in style.
Felix Nmecha got the scoring started after just six minutes, playing a lovely one-two with Florian Wirtz before bending his shot around his marker and just inside the right-hand post.
But Curaçao flipped the script in the 21st minute; Livano Comenencia‘s defence-splitting pass was blocked, and he ran onto the loose ball with his shot deflecting past Manuel Neuer, securing his place in the history books.
Nico Schlotterbeck had already given Curaçao a warning from a set-piece, and they did not heed it. In the 37th minute, the centre-back restored Germany’s lead, glancing Nathaniel Brown‘s corner past Eloy Room.
Nmecha then won a penalty after Riechedly Bazoer caught him late in the box, with Kai Havertz coolly slotting in the resulting spot-kick on the stroke of half-time.
Jamal Musiala added Germany’s fourth just two minutes after the break, finishing well from a tight angle, before Leandro Bacuna was denied by the offside flag at the other end.
Moments later, Brown netted a debut goal, brilliantly meeting substitute Deniz Undav‘s flick to volley his shot in after 68 minutes, before the Stuttgart striker went from provider to scorer as he squeezed a shot past Bacuna on the line.
But Germany were not done yet, with Havertz latching onto Kimmich’s throughball to dink a lovely shot over Room and secure a familiar scoreline for them at the World Cup.
Germany in Seventh Heaven Once Again
Germany have now won each of their last 10 matches in all competitions; only once in the history of the German Football Association (DFB) have they ever had a longer run (in 1979 to 1980, they achieved 12 consecutive victories).
At 05:17, Nmecha scored the quickest goal by a Germany player on his first-ever World Cup start since Philipp Lahm vs Costa Rica in 2006 (05:08).
But it was not plain sailing for Germany in the opening stages as Curaçao gave their fans something to celebrate, though they could not hold out for long.
Germany’s 16 shots were the most by any side in the first half of a World Cup match since Ivory Coast against Serbia in 2006 (also 16), and that pressure eventually told as they held a 3-1 lead at the break.
They eventually finished with 26 shots worth 3.91 expected goals (xG), getting 12 of those on target, with Curaçao mustering just 0.4 xG from eight attempts.
Curaçao are not the first team to be on the end of a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Germany, but this is the heaviest defeat suffered by a debuting team in the competition since South Korea beat Hungary 9-0 in 1954.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Germany vs Curaçao stats from their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group E meeting at Houston Stadium in Houston, Texas on 14 June.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Germany vs Curaçao: Selected Post-Match Opta Facts
Germany are now the all-time top scorers at the FIFA World Cup, with their seven-goal showing here taking them past Brazil (238) in the goal charts (239).
Germany have won their opening game of a World Cup by at least three goals for an eighth time, three more than the nation with the next most (France, 5). In addition, they have also now scored 7+ goals in a game more often than any other team in the competition (4), overtaking Hungary’s total (3).
Kai Havertz equalled his best scoring streak for Germany, netting in three in a row for the first time since October 2021-March 2022 (3). For club and country combined, Havertz has now scored in five of his last six starts across all competitions (six goals – 3 for Arsenal, 3 for Germany).
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