Germany defeated Curacao 7-1 in their opening Group E match of the 2026 World Cup on June 14 in a dominant second-half display after being pegged back to 1-1 in the first half [1, 2]. Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann, the youngest head coach at the tournament at age 38, named 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as starter for the game [3, 4, 5]. Neuer, playing in his fifth World Cup after coming out of international retirement, had missed recent friendlies due to a calf injury but regained form in time for the tournament [5]. Nagelsmann said, "We trust him a lot. In order to have a good World Cup we need Manuel in top performance and we think he can do that. He didn't have the rhythm but now he has found the rhythm." [3]

Neuer’s experience showed as Germany pulled away in the second half, and the team also handed Nathaniel Brown his first World Cup appearance against Curacao [3, 4]. Neuer has adopted a gluten-free and lactose-free diet to aid fitness and joked about feeling old compared to his younger teammates, saying, "I have to be honest and say that at the beginning I had the Walkman. The Discman was high-end." [6]

Germany entered the tournament with a desire to restore their reputation after first-round exits in 2018 and 2022. Nagelsmann acknowledged that Germany were not considered favourites, saying, "When we take a look at the last two World Cups we didn’t perform in a good way so we won’t be mentioned as a favourite for this tournament. It is our job to do a perfect World Cup now and then we will be a favourite for the next World Cup." [3]

The match also drew attention off the field when former Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp made a comment suggesting Nagelsmann "still" picks the team, which caused a stir in Germany on match day [7, 8, 9]. Klopp later apologized, calling it "a slip with no intended disruption," adding, "I could have punched myself in the face for that, but it was already too late and I was on TV." [7]

Curacao was coached by 78-year-old Dick Advocaat, the oldest head coach at the tournament, contrasting with Germany’s young staff [3, 4].

Germany’s next Group E match is against Ivory Coast on June 20 in Toronto, followed by Ecuador on June 25 [1, 7, 8, 9].