Seventh heaven for dominant Germany

Germany's seven-goal rout of Curacao in its World Cup opener on Sunday was the perfect way to overshadow a close first half and boost the team after consecutive group-stage exits for the four-time champion.

Kai Havertz scored two goals as Germany pulled away from World Cup debutant Curacao and piled it on in a 7-1 win in the Group E match. The smallest country to ever appear in the tournament, however, managed to hang tight at 1-1 until the 38th minute.

"We really needed this convincing win," coach Julian Nagelsmann said."We needed this self-confidence. It was there, but it definitely grew."

He said the display was important for the country's fans.

"We have to show them that we can perform and we have to have the confidence," he said. "I think we're in a better spot than we were entering this match."

Livano Comenencia tied it at 1-1 with his left-footed shot through traffic from the center of the box in the 21st minute to give Curacao its first goal in the tournament and send fans of the tiny Caribbean nation into a frenzy.

"Even though it wasn't me, it felt like it was me, it was all of us, the whole island, everybody," Curacao's Jearl Margaritha said. "We screamed our lungs out. We were so happy."

It was all Germany after that, with the European powerhouse regaining the lead through Nico Schlotterbeck's header off Nathaniel Brown's corner kick in the 38th.

"One team has very high expectations and the other one doesn't, and that's a bit tricky," Nagelsmann said.

The six-goal margin was well short of the World Cup record of nine, which has happened three times, most recently when Hungary beat El Salvador 10-1 in 1982. And the performance from the Germans was much more expected than the last time they won 7-1 in a World Cup, beating host Brazil in the 2014 semifinals.

A Havertz penalty, awarded after Felix Nmecha was tripped in the box by Riechedly Bazoer, made it 3-1 in first-half stoppage time.

Germany wasted no time after the turnaround, extending its lead when Jamal Musiala scored on a right-footed shot across the goalkeeper's area in the 47th minute.

Brown scored in the 68th to push the advantage to 5-1. The 22-year-old has an American father, but made it clear ahead of the World Cup he'd be representing the country in which he was born and raised by his mother.

Deniz Undav added a goal in the 78th minute. Havertz's second came in the 88th.

Germany is seeking redemption after failing to get out of the group stage in both Russia and Qatar following its 2014 title.

"We are on the right path, but of course there are things that we can do better, and we will have stronger opponents," Nagelsmann said.

Nmecha one-timed it with his right foot inside the near post from just inside the box off an assist from Florian Wirtz in the sixth minute to kickstart the scoring spree.

The crowd of 68,021 was overwhelmingly rooting for Germany, but there was a spirited contingent of people cheering on Curacao.

It was the first match of the tournament at NRG Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans.

Manuel Neuer, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who came out of international retirement for the tournament, made just one save in his first appearance for Germany in almost two years.

The match featured the largest age gap between coaches in World Cup history with Curacao's 78-year-old coach Dick Advocaat becoming the oldest ever in the tournament, opposite 38-year-old Nagelsmann, who is the youngest coach at this year's event.

Feeling proud

"This is not a disgrace," Curacao coach Advocaat said. "I think we can still be proud."

It was an emotional day for the septuagenarian, a World Cup veteran who coached the Netherlands at the 1994 tournament and South Korea in 2006. He wept before the game as his team, from a country of just 158,000, made its historic World Cup debut.

"This is related with the joy of the people in Curacao," he said. "It may be a matter of my age, but this is when the emotion comes to the surface. I don't really like it… (but) the joy of the people is fantastic."

Comenencia's goal gave Curacao confidence early, and was yet another milestone in the team's historic run.

"The goal was absolutely fantastic for all of us, for the nation as well," winger Kenji Gorre said. "It's more history being made. The first goal ever scored on the world stage, it's just phenomenal and we're all grateful that we were here to experience it (with) all the people in the stadium."

Nagelsmann was impressed with the fight shown by Curacao and noted that it can be dangerous when an underdog gets confidence.

"The opponent played better than many in Germany expected," he said."They played with a lot of courage."

While Curacao was proud to have stuck with a powerhouse like Germany for most of the first half, there was disappointment at the final score. Curacao had the biggest goal difference in a defeat of a nation making its World Cup debut since South Korea lost 9-0 to Hungary in 1954, according to Opta.

"Mixed emotions, mixed feelings. On one side you think, 'wow, we've made history by coming to the World Cup,'" Gorre said. "On the other, it's like, 'wow, we wish that we could have got some points.' But, we're playing against the world's best, and the world's best punish you at every opportunity they can. And you see that they punished us seven times from mistakes that we made."

Curacao will be hoping that the experience gained Sunday will help it go forward, as the team gears up for its next game against Ecuador in Kansas City on Saturday.

"We still have matches to play, and things can still end up differently," Advocaat said.

AGENCIES VIA XINHUA