Curacao can hold their heads up high said head coach Dick Advocaat despite a 7-1 hammering by four-time World Cup winners Germany (Paul ELLIS)Curacao's World Cup debut may have ended in a reality check of a 7-1 hammering by four-time champions Germany on Sunday but it "is nothing to be ashamed of" said their head coach Dick Advocaat.The 78-year-old, the oldest coach to appear at a World Cup finals, had been out of his seat when a deflected strike from Livano Comenencia levelled the match at 1-1.However, Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz with a double, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav scored to put to bed any possibility of one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history."It is not embarrassing to lose like that against such a team," said Advocaat at the post match press conference in Houston."This team (Germany) is worth 850 million and Curacao, 25."Curacao, the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the tournament, had hoped to pull off a giant-killing exploit "but it was not to be" said Advocaat."They were simply too strong and we gave away too many easy goals," lamented Advocaat, who was also present at the previous World Cup hosted in the US, 32 years ago, when he was in charge of the Dutch.Advocaat, who returned to take charge of Curacao after stepping aside in February when his daughter fell ill, said his and his staff's task was to restore morale ahead of next Saturday's Group E game against Ecuador."Obviously 7-1 is a heavy defeat," he said."We must make sure no one's head drops, that they do not remain in a bad state of mind."But I am not too worried about that happening."Advocaat, who wiped away tears before the kick-off, said the heavy defeat was made up for by the "fantastic scenes of happiness in the stands" from the fans fondly known as the 'Blue Wave'."It is already formidable what we achieved in qualifying for the finals," he said."And we should be conscious of that."All we need to do is simply show the best of ourselves here."Advocaat added even if Curacao does not cause an upset in the remaining group games -- Ivory Coast await in the final match -- "we will still be happy to have competed at the biggest event in the world."jta/bm/pi/rcw

Is the seven-time world champion back in peak form? It might be too soon to tell, but don't count him out, either.

They carried the weight of an entire city.

Kai Havertz scored a brace as Germany opened their World Cup campaign with a dominant 7-1 victory over debutants Curacao in Houston.

Daichi Kamada scored on a header off Koki Ogawa's corner kick in the 88th minute, sending the Samurai Blue fans into a frenzy and giving Japan a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in their World Cup opener on Sunday.While the Dutch extended their unbeaten streak to 16 games in group play, the orange-clad Oranje supporters were stunned by the late goal that left them at 21-2-11 in group play at the World Cup.Virgil Van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville scored off each post for the Netherlands early in the second half, while Keito Nakamura had a goal between those as part of a three-goal flurry in just 14 minutes.An uneventful first half changed quickly after the break for a crowd evenly split at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys with the retractable roof that offered relief from the muggy Texas heat, and the giant video board that fans had a hard time keeping their eyes off.Summerville gave the eighth-ranked Dutch the lead in the 64th minute, and Japan was running out of hope when Ogawa sent the corner that Kamada timed perfectly. The ball deflected slightly again on its way toward Bart Verbruggen, who got his hands on it with a sprawling dive but couldn't keep it from going in.Van Dijk sent a header toward the far post on the right in the 50th minute, bending forward from inside the penalty area as he stared at the ball before it caromed in for the Dutch captains 13th international goal.Nakamura answered seven minutes later for 18th-ranked Japan, turning and rifling a shot past Verbruggen from the left side of the arc after taking a pass from Takefusa Kubo.Another seven minutes later, Summerville took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch and sent a left-footed shot to the far left post past Zion Suzuki, where it caromed in again.The Dutchs most recent loss before the elimination round came the last time the World Cup was in the United States in 1994, when a group play defeat was followed by a quarterfinal loss to Brazil at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.In Group F, the Netherlands plays Sweden on Saturday in Houston, while Japan goes to Monterrey, Mexico, to face Tunisia on Saturday.___AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Daichi Kamada scored on a header off Koki Ogawa's corner kick in the 88th minute, sending the Samurai Blue fans into a frenzy and giving Japan a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in their World Cup opener on Sunday.While the Dutch extended their unbeaten streak to 16 games in group play, the orange-clad Oranje supporters were stunned by the late goal that left them at 21-2-11 in group play at the World Cup.Virgil Van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville scored off each post for the Netherlands early in the second half, while Keito Nakamura had a goal between those as part of a three-goal flurry in just 14 minutes.An uneventful first half changed quickly after the break for a crowd evenly split at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys with the retractable roof that offered relief from the muggy Texas heat, and the giant video board that fans had a hard time keeping their eyes off.Summerville gave the eighth-ranked Dutch the lead in the 64th minute, and Japan was running out of hope when Ogawa sent the corner that Kamada timed perfectly. The ball deflected slightly again on its way toward Bart Verbruggen, who got his hands on it with a sprawling dive but couldn't keep it from going in.Van Dijk sent a header toward the far post on the right in the 50th minute, bending forward from inside the penalty area as he stared at the ball before it caromed in for the Dutch captains 13th international goal.Nakamura answered seven minutes later for 18th-ranked Japan, turning and rifling a shot past Verbruggen from the left side of the arc after taking a pass from Takefusa Kubo.Another seven minutes later, Summerville took a pass from Ryan Gravenberch and sent a left-footed shot to the far left post past Zion Suzuki, where it caromed in again.The Dutchs most recent loss before the elimination round came the last time the World Cup was in the United States in 1994, when a group play defeat was followed by a quarterfinal loss to Brazil at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.In Group F, the Netherlands plays Sweden on Saturday in Houston, while Japan goes to Monterrey, Mexico, to face Tunisia on Saturday.___AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup

Watch as Japan's Daichi Kamada brings his side level to the Netherlands in their Group F fixture in the 2026 World Cup.

Ein kleiner DFB-Fan hat den richtigen Riecher. Joker Deniz Undav liefert ohne groe Anlaufzeit. Und die Fans feiern. Alle Nachrichten rund um das DFB-Team im Liveblog.[mehr]

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Aprs avoir dcroch son billet via les barrages europens, la Sude dbute sa campagne face la Tunisie au Stade de Monterrey. Les Aigles de Carthage sont dtermins russir leur entame, quatre ans aprs avoir chut lors de la phase de groupes en 2022. De leur ct, les Scandinaves renouent avec la comptition pour la premire fois depuis 2018.