Havertz double leads Germany’s seven-goal rout of debutants Curaçao
A brief first-half wobble aside, Germany overwhelmed World Cup debutants Curaçao 7-1 in Houston, Kai Havertz scoring twice. Livano Comenencia’s equaliser made Curaçao the smallest nation ever to score at a World Cup.
Jun 14, 2026
Germany needed only six minutes to settle into their World Cup, and a little longer than that to remember they were supposed to make it look easy. Curaçao, the smallest nation ever to reach the tournament, briefly turned a routine Group E opener into something far more nervy before Julian Nagelsmann’s side pulled clear for a 7-1 win in Houston on June 14.
A fast start, then a jolt
Felix Nmecha opened the scoring inside six minutes, the quickest goal of the tournament to that point, and the evening looked set to follow the script everyone had written for it. Then Curaçao did what no one in their squad will forget. Livano Comenencia levelled in the 21st minute, and a Caribbean island of roughly 160,000 people had its first goal at a World Cup.
The lead lasted only as long as it took Germany to stop being polite. Nico Schlotterbeck restored order before the break with a header, and Kai Havertz tucked away a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time to make it 3-1 at the interval. Whatever belief Curaçao carried out for the second half did not survive long.
Havertz and the bench do the damage
Jamal Musiala struck within two minutes of the restart, drilling home to push the margin to three. From there it became an exhibition. Nathaniel Brown made it five just after the hour, and Deniz Undav, on as a substitute, scored one and set up two more in a cameo that read like a man auditioning for a starting place. Havertz completed his double late on to round off the scoring at 7-1.
Joshua Kimmich finished with two assists, and the spread of contributions will please Nagelsmann as much as the scoreline. Six different players got on the sheet, and the manager emptied his bench without the performance dropping off, which is exactly the kind of depth Germany will lean on if they are to go deep across a long tournament.
A historic night for Curaçao despite the rout
For Curaçao, the number that matters is not seven. It is one. Comenencia’s strike made them the smallest nation by population to score at a World Cup, breaking the mark Iceland set in 2018 with a country several times their size. They arrived as the tournament’s great underdog story, and even a heavy defeat does not change the scale of what qualifying represented.
The reality of the gap to a side like Germany was always going to be unforgiving, and so it proved once the visitors found their rhythm. Curaçao now turn to the rest of Group E knowing that survival, not the result against one of the pre-tournament favourites, is where their World Cup will be decided.
Germany, for their part, are up and running. The early scare will be filed away as a footnote, but Nagelsmann will know his side switched off long enough to let debutants level on the biggest stage. Against stronger opposition, that lapse costs more than a few minutes of discomfort.