Germany will face Curaçao in its first game at the 2026 World Cup. A successful start can have enormous significance for the rest of the tournament.
On Sunday evening (June 14th, 7 p.m., live on ARD as well as in the live stream and audio stream on sportschau.de) the eyes of German football fans will be on Houston. In the Texas metropolis, the DFB team starts the 2026 World Cup with the first game of Group E against Curaçao. A groundbreaking game that can set the mood within national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s team and also in football Germany for the next few days and perhaps even weeks. A lot has always depended on a successful start to the tournament for the DFB team.
The DFB selection started with a victory in all of its title wins
A look at the numbers alone proves this: The four-time world champion won all the titles in the first match. 1954 The team of then national coach Sepp Herberger managed to achieve this 4:1 against Turkey. The foundation stone for what would later become the “Miracle of Bern” was laid. Things didn’t go quite so furiously 1974 for Coach Helmut Schön’s team, but they still achieved a hard-fought victory 1-0 against snappy and aggressive Chileans. Paul Breitner was the scorer of the golden goal with which he fueled the euphoria at the home World Cup, which ultimately resulted in the 2-1 final win against the Netherlands.
Lothar Matthäus’s stroke of genius against Yugoslavia
The “Italian Summer” 1990 The “imperial” team of team boss Franz Beckenbauer couldn’t have started better than with that 4-1 win against strongly rated Yugoslavia. Older football fans will still remember Lothar Matthäus’ goal to make it 3-1 – a solo run across half the field with a powerful finish from over 20 meters. A stroke of genius that finally made Matthäus a world star and was later voted “Goal of the Year” in the sports show. A milestone on the way to the third title – Matthäus was finally voted “World Footballer of the Year” in 1990.
And also in the last German triumph to date 2014 A strong opening performance created a wave of euphoria that the DFB team was able to ride in the following weeks. The 4-0 against Portugal with superstar Cristiano Ronaldo including the three-time goal scorer Thomas Müller, many people interested in football in this country should still have their eyes on it.
Most recently, two crash landings after initial defeats
The recent two eliminations of the DFB selection from the world tournaments are diametrically opposed to this 2018 and 2022. In both Russia and Qatar it was over after the preliminary round. Both times the tournament started with a defeat for Germany. In 2018, national coach Joachim Löw and his team were Mexico (0:1) Duped, in 2022 DFB coach Hansi Flick’s team received one despite being in the lead 1:2 setback against Japan.
Good record for the DFB selection
Overall, the German national teams’ initial results at the World Championships look extremely positive. Out of 20 participations, there were 13 wins, four times the DFB team started with a draw and three times they suffered defeat at the start of the tournament.
Of course, such a situation is not planned against outsiders Curaçao. Anything other than a clear victory would probably be a disappointment for Florian Wirtz, Joshua Kimmich and Co. With a big win, the DFB team could almost set the course for the round of 32.
Clear success against Curaçao should be enough for the knockout round
For the first time, 48 teams in twelve groups of four are taking part in the tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In addition to the first and second placed teams in each group, the eight best third-placed teams also reach the knockout round. Simulations before the start of the tournament showed that practically every team that has three points and an at least equal goal difference will be among the best 32 teams.
A clear win in the group stage should be enough – and this is the German national team’s mission against Curaçao: get three points and score as many goals as possible.