LOS ANGELES: Germany thrashed World Cup debutants Curacao 7-1 on Sunday while Japan fought back to grab a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands.

Curacao, the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the tournament, made a bright start against four-time winners Germany in Houston when Livano Comenencia scored an early equaliser to give the Caribbean nation of 160,000 people a historic first World Cup goal.

But they were soon outclassed as Felix Nmecha opened the scoring for the Germans and Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz with a double, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav scored to put to bed any possibility of one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.

Despite their proud record in the competition, Germany have struggled in recent editions and this was the first time they had won their first opening match at a World Cup since they lifted the trophy in 2014.

“It took us a few minutes to get back into the game after they equalised. Curacao can play football too, as we saw, and I’m curious to see how they’ll fare in the group going forward,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.

“I’m very satisfied with us scoring seven goals and our performance for the most part. A winning start is always important and we’re glad we managed it,” he added.

Curacao will hope they can get more out of their remaining Group ‘E’ games against Ecuador and Ivory Coast.

“It is not embarrassing to lose like that against such a team,” said their 78-year-old Dutch coach Dick Advocaat. “We need to turn this into a beautiful tournament. We can have a surprise in the second and third match. In the end we will be glad we were part of the biggest football tournament in the world.”

The heavy defeat also has not dampened the spirit or the delight of the Curacao fans.

“(I am) very proud because we are the smallest island, smallest country and we scored against Germany! We are very happy and very, very proud!” fan Otmar Cornelia told Reuters.

SECOND-HALF GOAL FRENZY

Matches are often described as a game of two halves but seldom has the old cliche been more apt than on Sunday when all the goals in the Netherlands’ 2-2 draw against Japan came in a pulsating second period after a cagey first 45 minutes.

Skipper Virgil van Dijk had put the Dutch ahead with a fine header at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, only for Keito Nakamura to quickly level, before winger Crysencio Summerville’s sumptuous curled finish into the bottom corner just after the hour.

Japan earned a point with an 89th-minute deflected equaliser attributed to Daichi Kamada.

At the final whistle, even the typically dour Dutch coach Ron­ald Koeman was all smiles as he shook hands with his Japanese counterpart Hajime Moriyasu.

The prospect of a scintillating second period had looked as unlikely as a supporter finding a low-priced stadium ticket at this year’s World Cup.

Koeman opted for a more defensive setup after the Dutch took the lead but the approach backfired as Japan poured forward and eventually equalised.

Koeman, however, said he had no regrets about his tactics and that shoddy defending was to blame.

“There was also a problem with pressure on the flanks. So if you look at the game, both goals, well, we didn’t defend well,” he told reporters. “Football is a funny game because, after Japan scored the second goal, they started defending as well.

“So we could have scored a third goal. So I don’t regret my choices.”

On the sidelines, Japan fans won hearts of everyone around the world as they displayed their culture when they left the stands spotless after the match.

Spectators stayed behind after draw to make sure they left the stadium as they found it, meticulously picking up litter and stuffing it into blue plastic bags.

It is a habit first learned at primary school and Japan fan Eita Tanaka told AFP that “we have to think about everyone”.

DIALLO SHINES

In Philadelphia, a last-gasp 90th-minute goal from Manch­ester United’s Amad Diallo gave Ivory Coast a precious 1-0 victory over Ecuador in Group ‘E’.

Manager Emerse Fae said the win showed his young side’s World Cup ambitions are genuine.

The Ivorians have impressed since booking their place at the finals following comfortable warm-up wins over South Korea and Scotland in March and a 2-1 victory away to France last week.

Fae’s youthful attack, including highly rated 19-year-old winger Yan Diomande, was tested by an experienced Ecuadorean defence featuring Paris St-Germain’s Willian Pacho and Arsenal’s Piero Hincapie, shielded by Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo.

“We came to the US for this, and we came here with ambitions, with high hopes,” Fae told reporters.

“We don’t want to just have visited the US and have to go back, so everything is going well for now.

“We’ve beaten France. We are starting this competition well against Ecuador, a very tough team, but we managed to come into our own and won the match. This shows that our team has acquitted itself well.”

Ecuador coach Sebastian Beccacece, meanwhile, cut a frustrated figure saying his side had done enough to win their opener.

“It hurts because it was an unfair defeat,” Beccacece told reporters. “I think there are very strong arguments to clearly show that the team competed very well, had the clearest chances and could have won the match, but because of one detail at the end, we leave with nothing.”

TUNISIA COACH’S JOB UNDER THREAT

In the late game on Sunday, Sweden opened their campaign in Group ‘F’ with a swashbuckling 5-1 rout of Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico.

Sweden, who only squeezed into the World Cup via the playoffs thanks to their performances in the Nations League, ran the north Africans ragged and romped to an impressive victory thanks to two goals from Yasin Ayari and one apiece from Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Mattias Svanberg.

Following the humiliating defeat, Tunisia coach Sabri Lamouchi’s job is in the balance as federation chiefs are holding talks, a source told AFP on Monday.

Lamouchi has only been in charge since January and could be replaced by Mondher Kebaier, who coached the national side from 2019 to 2022.

Kebaier is with the Tunisian World Cup delegation which is based in Monterrey, Mexico.

“Discussions are underway between members of the federation,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

He added that a decision “in one sense or the other” should be taken “in the next few hours”.

Several Tunisian media outlets claimed Lamouchi would be sacked.

On the other hand, Sweden coach Graham Potter praised the chemistry between forwards Isak and Gyokeres after they tore Tunisia’s defence to shreds.

“Individually, of course, they are top players but I think together they can be a real threat,” Potter told a press conference. “I think they’ll get better and better the more they play; they complement each other very well.

“I’m really pleased with the players,” he added. “We know the quality of the individuals in the front positions but they needed a team to function.”

Published in Dawn, June 16th, 2026