Germany 7–1 Curaçao as World Cup debut ends in Houston

Germany 7–1 in your World Cup debut

Your team stepped onto the world stage in Houston and Germany ran away with it. 7–1. The scoreline hurts, but this was always going to be about the occasion, not the result. Joshua Kimmich, Nagelsmann, Musiala, Havertz, Germany brought the full force of a tournament favourite, and after a hesitant first few minutes they let loose (1) (2).

Deniz Undav came off the bench and needed 24 minutes to score one and set up two more. Musiala, Wirtz, and Nmecha all dominated. The gulf was real.

Dick Advocaat was visibly emotional before kick-off. This was Curaçao's first World Cup match, and that moment belongs to you no matter what the scoreboard said.

Kimmich: "Curaçao actually played football against us"

Joshua Kimmich did not brush off Curaçao's performance. "Curaçao actually played football against us, I had expected more long balls," the Germany captain said after the match (1). That is genuine respect from one of the best midfielders in the world.

He also went to bat for teammate Leroy Sané, who took criticism despite the 7–1 win. "I don't think the criticism is understandable. I thought he was extremely committed, he never left me alone in counter situations and always sprinted back to help defensively," Kimmich said. "Of course he didn't score a goal, which you're judged by as an attacking player. But the most important thing is that internally, we don't judge the players by that." (2)

And this line: "He was always the first to celebrate the goals, even before the ball had gone in. For me that shows that the team is the most important thing for him." (2)

FIFA investigates VAR official over pre-match gesture

Off the pitch, controversy. FIFA launched an investigation into VAR assistant Shaun Evans over an alleged far-right hand gesture made before kick-off. The incident did not affect the match, but it added an unwelcome layer to the day.