Curaçao take pride from historic World Cup goal despite 7-1 Germany defeat

HOUSTON, United States (CMC): Curaçao’s first appearance at a FIFA World Cup ended in a 7-1 defeat to Germany on Sunday, but head coach Dick Advocaat said the Caribbean side had no reason to hang their heads.

Germany went in front through Felix Nmecha before Livano Comenencia gave Curaçao a landmark moment in the 21st minute, scoring the country’s first goal on the World Cup stage and briefly pulling the team level.

The contest soon moved firmly Germany’s way. Kai Havertz scored twice, while Nico Schlotterbeck, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav also got on the scoresheet to complete a commanding German win.

Advocaat, whose Curaçao team are the smallest nation ever to reach a FIFA World Cup, said the heavy scoreline should not overshadow what the side had already achieved.

"This is not a disgrace, I think we can still be proud," the 78-year-old Advocaat said.

"This is related with the joy of the people in Curaçao. 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."

Advocaat said he wanted the lessons from facing Germany to serve Curaçao well as they move on in the tournament. Their next match is against Ecuador on Saturday in Kansas City.

"We still have matches to go, and things can still end up differently," he said.

Winger Kenji Gorré said the squad felt the sting of the result, but also understood the scale of what they had done by reaching the competition and scoring on such a stage.

"The goal was absolutely fantastic for all of us, for the nation as well.

"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," Gorré said.

"Mixed emotions, mixed feelings. On one side you think, ‘Wow, we’ve made history by coming to the World Cup,’ and 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."

Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann also acknowledged Curaçao’s performance, saying the debutants showed more resistance than many expected.

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