Germany secured their first win of the 2026 FIFA World Cup following an emphatic 7-1 win over debutant Curacao in the opening Group E clash at the Houston Stadium on Sunday.

It was Felix Nmecha who opened the scoring for the four-time World Cup champions six minutes into the encounter dubbed the ‘David versus Goliath’ tie due to the significant difference in FIFA World ranking positions between the two teams. 

Germany is ranked ninth in the world while Curacao sits 82nd. The population difference between the countries is also huge. Germany has a population of 93.8 million as opposed to 158,000 in Curacao.

In a dramatic move, Curacao levelled the game when Livano Comenencia fired a low shot from the edge of the box past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. 

It was the country’s first-ever World Cup goal. However, Germany took over the match from there. 

Nico Schlotterbeck restored Germany’s lead with a header from Nathaniel Brown before Kai Havertz made it 3-1 from the penalty spot just before halftime. 

Jamal Musiała, Brown, Deniz Undav and Havertz once more, respectively, went on to score four more goals in the second half to complete Germany’s dominant performance in the match. 

The victory temporarily put Germany top of Group E before the second group game between Ivory Coast and Ecuador set to be played at the Philadelphia Stadium in the early hours of Monday.