Germany’s start to the World Cup
Nagelsmann recognizes the biblical danger
June 14, 2026 – 11:52 a.mReading time: 4 minutes
The German national team wants to avoid a false start to the World Cup as much as possible. The signs are good. But the national coach also sees the danger of the opponent.
William Laing reports from Houston
Julian Nagelsmann wasn’t nervous the day before his World Cup debut. “As a coach, the most important thing is always how the team makes you feel,” emphasized the national coach on Saturday at the final press conference in the Houston Stadium before the German team’s opening game at the World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. “They have trained very well, won many games in a row, and make a very good impression in terms of the atmosphere within the team,” Nagelsmann praised his players. As of now, he is “still very calm” and is “extremely looking forward to it getting started.”
The DFB team has recently won nine games in a row. Victory number ten should follow on Sunday – and that against an opponent who shouldn’t actually represent a hurdle for the German team, which was defeated twice at the start of the last two World Cups. At least on paper.
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On Sunday, Germany will face Curaçao (from 7 p.m. in the live ticker on t-online), a Caribbean country that is represented at a World Cup for the first time. In the world rankings, “The Blue Wave” (translated: “The Blue Wave”) is only in 82nd place, 72 places behind the DFB team. With just 158,000 inhabitants, the tournament debutant is also the smallest nation to have taken part in a World Cup to date. But Nagelsmann still doesn’t want to take Curaçao lightly. Because the national coach recognizes the biblical danger.
“There are always stories in football”
Nagelsmann initially did not want to deny his first German opponent’s role as an outsider. “Curaçao is a team that obviously won’t go into the tournament as favorites in the group,” the 38-year-old made it clear. But this is exactly where the DFB coach sees a decisive advantage for former Gladbach coach Dick Advocaat’s team. Because: Being the outsider makes the team “dangerous,” says Nagelsmann. “It’s like a DFB Cup situation: David, Goliath. The stories happen again and again in football.”
In the well-known biblical story, the shepherd boy David faces the almost overwhelming giant Goliath in battle and is able to defeat him with skill despite his supposed inferiority. The hero story has always been regularly repeated in sport. Small teams suddenly beat much better teams – or at least cause them to stumble. As noted by Nagelsmann, the DFB Cup is known for such unusual scenarios. But the same goes for the World Cup.