Germany opened their World Cup campaign in dominant fashion on Sunday, hammering debutants Curaçao 7-1, while Japan rallied for a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands and Iran marked their long-awaited arrival in the United States with a call for unity.
Curaçao, the smallest nation by population ever to reach the tournament, briefly stunned four-time champions Germany in Houston when Livano Comenencia struck an early equaliser, giving the Caribbean nation of about 160,000 people its first World Cup goal.
The early promise did not last. Germany quickly took control, with Felix Nmecha putting them ahead before Kai Havertz scored in both halves, including a penalty, as the Europeans underlined their superiority.
Despite their pedigree, Germany have struggled for consistency at recent tournaments. The win marked the first time since their 2014 title run that they have opened a World Cup with victory.
"It took us a few minutes to get back into the game after they equalised. Curaçao can play football too, as we saw, and I'm curious to see how they'll fare in the group going forward," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
