How Curacao were brushed aside by Germany on World Cup debut | OneFootball

Poor Curacao. For a while there, it looked like the tournament debutants might actually pull off a shock against Germany at Houston’s NRG Arena, when Livano Comenencia’s scruffy effort cancelled out Felix Nmecha’s lightning bolt of an opener.

But then the first hydration break happened, the Blue Wave lost their momentum, and goals from Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala on either side of the break put Die Mannschaft firmly in control.

Further goals from Nathaniel Brown and Denis Undav, as well as a second from Kai Havertz, further piled on the misery and ensured a sorry evening for Dick Advocaat’s men.

From The Spot analyses whether Curacao did anything right on a disappointing night, and if they still stand any chance of progressing from Group E after an opening match from hell.

Wasteful in front of goal as Blue Wave fail to make pressure count

At times, Curacao showed some encouraging signs in attack. Even after going 4-1, then 5-1. Then 6-1 down in the second 45, they still kept pushing for a second, and showed plenty of endeavour in the final third.

Their problem was an inability to make such pressure count. This was particularly evident in the first half. Jurgen Locadia had a great chance following Comenencia’s shock leveller, but took too much time to try and get his shot away. A further opportunity was fizzed over the bar by Sontje Hansen as the tiny island nation demonstrated just how far off they are from being competitive at this level.

A crossing percentage of 29% further highlighted the gulf in class between the Blue Wave and their opponents, as did the number of final third entries – 37 to Germany’s 80.

Lack of control in midfield leads to loss of momentum

A failure to take control of the midfield was also a major weakness. Of course, one could argue this was to be expected against a German side boasting the likes of Aleksandar Pavlovic and the aforementioned Musiala. But the Caribbeans will still be disappointed about how badly they crumbled following an encouraging first 35 minutes.

Ex-Aston Villa man Leandro Bacuna mustered a meagre 77% passing accuracy in the German half, while his brother Juninho completed 84% of his passes. Pavlovic, by contrast, managed an overall accuracy of 93% and only 1% fewer in Curacao territory. Even Comenencia struggled despite the goal, completing three progressive carries for an overall distance of just 17 metres.

Attacking strategy backfires as defensive frailties exposed

Quite obviously, given the scoreline, defence was also a serious issue. Following the German opener, the Blue Wave switched to a 3-2-5 formation, which served the Caribbean country well in qualifying and initially paid dividends with Comenencia’s leveller. But once Advocaat’s men began to drop off post-hydration break, the flaws of such a setup were brutally exposed. Although Germany’s second and third goals came from a corner and a penalty, those opportunities were created thanks to some slick attacking play which exploited a wide-open Blue Wave defence.

Riechedly Bazoer and Deveron Fonville’s statistics make for particularly grim reading. The pair won just five out of eleven ground duels between them, while Fonville managed a mere five defensive contributions across 90 minutes.

Despite tonight’s result, Curacao showed flashes of quality and can still qualify from Group E. But if they are to do so, they will need to demonstrate significant tactical improvements at both ends of the pitch against Ecuador and the Ivory Coast. Fail to do so, and it will be au revoir for the competition’s smallest ever nation.