Six different scorers made their mark on the scoreboard during the 7-1 rout of Curaçao—Kai Havertz was the only player to score twice. But that mattered less to the forward than many other things.
Kai Havertz was well aware of the fact that returnee Manuel Neuer was the only player from the current DFB squad who had experienced the legendary 7-1 victory in the 2014 World Cup semifinal against the struggling host Brazil firsthand as an active player. Speaking off the cuff after the 7-1 win against World Cup newcomer and underdog Curacao, the Arsenal pro said: “I saw the 7-1 win against Brazil in 2014; it’s in the history books—starting with this result now is something special. Manu was the only one there.”
That’s why Havertz immediately made it his mission to ask the now 40-year-old veteran about it. He wanted to follow up with Neuer about that historic rout of the Seleção and revisit the story: “I’ll ask him what it was like back then. I was 14 when I watched that game. To have experienced a result like that myself now is really something special.”
DFB pride—and a “top performance” from Undav
Otherwise, the joy over the clear victory prevailed for the double-header in the midday match in Houston: “We can be absolutely satisfied with winning 7-1. I generally believe that the first game at a World Cup is always the toughest.” Having wrapped up this one with such a decisive result can really boost morale. “I think we’ve gained a lot of confidence.”
Himself as well? The striker, deployed as a center forward by national team coach Julian Nagelsmann, didn’t want to make too much of his confident penalty kick just before halftime—which put the score at a decisive 3-1—or his spectacular chip that sealed the 7-1 final score. Instead, he modestly put the team first and heaped praise on super sub Deniz Undav: “That was a top performance in his first World Cup match. That’s why he’s here; he’s shown that all season long. When you have a weapon like that, you simply have to use it every now and then.”
The fact that Nathaniel Brown impressed as a left-back (1.5) and also scored in his first World Cup match is also outstanding—especially for a player who is still so young and, in his view, extremely humble yet works incredibly hard on the field. “That’s outstanding for his age. We need players like that on the national team.”
Havertz Now Ahead of Matthäus and Özil
What else does the DFB team need, according to Havertz? A clear head ahead of the supposedly tougher group stage matches against Ivory Coast on Saturday and against Ecuador (June 25, 10 p.m.). The recovery day today, Monday, as well as the already scheduled day off on Tuesday, shouldn’t get in the way of that. Havertz on this: “Recover well, make use of the day off—many have family here.” Just clear your head a bit and get treatment from the physios—“that’s what it’s all about.” Afterward, the focus should then be entirely on soccer and the big World Cup challenges again.
Then perhaps with another goal or two from Havertz, who, after 59 appearances in the DFB jersey, now has a respectable 24 goals to his name—placing him 22nd in the DFB rankings, tied with legend Bastian Schweinsteiger (24 goals in 121 international matches) and Timo Werner (24 in 57). World champions like Lothar Matthäus (23 in 150) and Mesut Özil (23 in 92) have just been overtaken.