For one brief but glorious moment, we could pretend we had made it. A bird’s-eye view from over Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, or Philadelphia Stadium to give it its Fifa-friendly title, showed the tricolour spread over half the field in all its green-white-and-orange glory.We wish. But alas, no. Instead, it was Ivory Coast (and their orange-white-and-green tricolour) lining out in their Group E opener. The stands, however, were decidedly yellow as Ecuador’s supporters turned out in force to see their side battle through a full-blooded affair against the 2023 Afcon champions.The flags of Ivory Coast and Ecuador on the field ahead of the Group E game at Philadelphia Stadium. Photograph: Kevin C Cox/Getty Images While there was no shortage of attempts, leaving the crowd so on edge it took a blaring of DJ Otzi’s Hey Baby to spur them back to life during the second-half hydration break, the only goal of the game arrived in the 90th minute. Substitute Amad Diallo, who plies his trade at Manchester United, made a sweet connection with Wilfried Singo’s cross to nestle a shot to the bottom left corner, earning Ivory Coast their first World Cup win.Watch: Amad Diallo goal for Ivory Coast against EcuadorThere was no such wait for a goal earlier in the day in Houston, where Germany showed no mercy against tournament minnows Curacao. Kai Havertz was on song in the 7-1 triumph, the Arsenal forward scoring twice for Germany, including a first-half stoppage-time penalty.After the Houston goal-fest, hopes were high for what awaited in Texas, where the Netherlands were up against Japan in Group F. Instead, what transpired was 45 of the dullest minutes of football perhaps ever played. At one point, a Japanese cross failed to clear a lone Dutch defender on the near side of the box, drawing an exasperated sigh from John Kenny on RTÉ commentary. It really was that tough a watch.Thankfully for all involved, the second half was an entirely different story. Virgil van Dijk headed the Netherlands in front on 51 minutes, only for Keito Nakamura to find an equaliser six minutes later. Crysencio Summerville fired off a lovely left-footed shot to restore the Netherlands’ lead, to which Japan appeared to have no reply. But a minute from time, a corner gave them a last-gasp chance, which Daichi Kamada seized.Watch: Daichi Kamada’s goal for Japan against the NetherlandsAnd there was a spread of familiar Premier League faces on the score sheet for Sweden in their resounding 5-1 win over Tunisia in Group F. Brighton’s Yasin Ayari opened the scoring inside 10 minutes with a screamer off a poor Tunisia clearance and added to his tally at the death, Liverpool’s Alexander Isak struck on the half-hour mark, and Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres bagged a fourth for Graham Potter’s side (yes, that’s the former Chelsea and West Ham manager) on 59 minutes.Results:Group E – Germany 7 (Nmecha 6, Schlotterbeck 38, Havertz 45+5 pen, 88, Musiala 47, Brown 68, Undav 78) Curacao 1 (Comenencia 21)Group F – Netherlands 2 (Van Dijk 51, Summerville 64) Japan 2 (Nakamura 57, Kamada 89)Group E – Ivory Coast 1 (Diallo 90) Ecuador 0Group F – Sweden 5 (Ayari 7, 90+6, Isak 30, Gyokeres 59, Svanberg 84) Tunisia 1 (Rekik 43)Goal of the day: Yasin Ayari’s seventh-minute rocket to open Sweden’s account against Tunisia.Watch: Ayari’s goal for Sweden against TunisiaMoment of the day: A beautiful strike in its own right, but Livano Comenencia’s 21st-minute goal to pull Curacao back level against Germany was more than just that.Appearing in their first ever World Cup, Curacao have become the smallest nation (by both population and area) to qualify for the tournament, so it’s also one for the history book.And the ensuing celebrations were worthy of the moment.Watch: Comenencia’s goal for Curacao against GermanyPicture of the day:German fans attend a public screening of Germany's opening World Cup match against Curacao at the Twelve Apostles Evangelical Church in Berlin. Photograph: Tobias Schwarzz/AFP via Getty Images Of all the venues showing World Cup games, the Twelve Apostles Evangelical Church in Berlin is likely among the more unusual options. The church’s screening of Germany’s win over Curacao in Group E was even accompanied by pianist Stephan von Bothmer on the organ. The 7-1 win would suggest the congregation’s prayers were answered.Question of the day: The Netherlands were beaten by Portugal in a controversial game dubbed ‘The Battle of Nuremberg’ at the 2006 World Cup. How many cards were issued by the referee during that game? (Answer below)Coming up today:Group H – Spain v Cape Verde (RTÉ2 & UTV, 5pm); Saudi Arabia v Uruguay (RTÉ2 & UTV, 11pm)Group G – Belgium v Egypt (RTÉ2 & BBC One, 8pm); Iran v New Zealand (RTÉ2 & BBC One, 2am)Any other business: The draws for Round 3 of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship and Tailteann Cup semi-finals will take place shortly after 8.30am; you can follow along via our live blog. Paul Fitzpatrick fills us in on the main points from the weekend’s action.Ahead of the US Open, which gets under way at Shinnecock Hills, Long Island on Thursday, Philip Reid runs through the five players to watch at the tournament, Shane Lowry among them. And following Ciara Mageean’s interview over the weekend, we have an excerpt from her upcoming book – My Greatest Race, available from June 18th – detailing the lead up to her stunning gold at the 2024 European Championships and the aftermath of her crushing decision to withdraw from the 1,500m at the Paris Olympics due to injury.On the telly, TG4 have highlights of the GAA weekend from 8pm.Answer to question of the day: Twenty cards were dished out by Russian referee Valentin Ivanov – 16 yellows (nine for Portugal, seven for the Netherlands) and four reds (two apiece, all for second yellows).