German forward Deniz Undav etched his name in the record books during his team's FIFA World Cup campaign opener against debutants Curacao. Undav became just the third German player since 1966 to score a goal and provide an assist in a World Cup match after coming on as a substitute.
Curacao's Historic Debut
World Cup debutants Curacao made history by scoring their first-ever goal in the tournament, briefly unsettling the German camp. However, the four-time champions, powered by Undav and Kai Havertz, quickly regained control and secured a dominant 7-1 victory. This margin of defeat is the heaviest for a World Cup debutant since 1954, when South Korea lost 0-9 to Hungary.
Undav's Impact Off the Bench
Introduced as a substitute, Undav delivered two assists and scored a goal. According to ESPN, he is only the second German player to provide two assists in a World Cup game as a substitute, following Pierre Littbarski, who achieved this against the United Arab Emirates in 1990.
In the 69th minute, Undav set up Brown for a volley, making it 5-1. Undav then scored himself in the 78th minute, his seventh goal in 10 international appearances. In the 88th minute, Havertz completed the scoring after another assist from Undav.
Exclusive Club
Undav joins Rudi Voller (vs Argentina in 1986) and Niclas Fullkrug (vs Costa Rica in 2022) as the only German substitutes to both score and assist in a World Cup match. His three goal contributions off the bench are the joint-most in a World Cup game since 1966, alongside James Rodriguez (vs Japan in 2014), Tim Cahill (vs Japan in 2006), and Laszlo Kiss (vs Slovenia in 1982).
Historic Win for Germany
This victory is the biggest win in the ongoing World Cup. It also propelled Germany past Brazil as the all-time highest goal-scorers in tournament history, with 239 goals to Brazil's 238. This is the fourth time Germany has scored seven or more goals in a World Cup match, the most by any team.
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer started as Germany's oldest appearance-maker in tournament history at 40 years and 79 days, having reversed his international retirement for the event.
