Germany started the game off to a flyer. Felix Nmecha opened the scoring just 6 minutes in, curling a clinical effort past Eloy Room after a slick one-two with Florian Wirtz.
However, Curacao stunned the Houston crowd in the 21st minute. Seizing upon a rare defensive lapse during a counter-attack, Livano Comenencia struck a deflected shot that wrong-footed Manuel Neuer. He thus scored the first-ever World Cup goal for the Caribbean island nation of just 156,000 people.
The underdog fairy tale, however, was short-lived. Nico Schlotterbeck restored Germany’s lead in the 38th minute, rising high to emphatically head in Nathaniel Brown’s corner. Just before the half-time, Kai Havertz calmly converted a penalty to make it 3-1.
Germany ruthlessly killed the game off just 69 seconds into the second half. Joshua Kimmich picked out Jamal Musiala, who seamlessly danced into the box and slotted home from a tight angle.
From there, the German floodgates opened. Substitute Deniz Undav smartly set up Nathaniel Brown to volley in Germany’s fifth in the 68th minute. Undav and Havertz (completing his brace) both added to the tally in the closing minutes, finalizing the 7-1 rout.