Germany 3-0 Curacaopublished at 11:57 BST
11:57 BST
Chris Sutton’s World Cup predictions
Chris Sutton
Former England forward
Image source, Getty Images
Curacao are the smallest nation ever to make it to a World Cup, in terms of geographical size and population – 158,000, which is only slightly bigger than my home city of Norwich.
Sadly, Norwich never made it to a World Cup, but for Curacao to qualify is a great story – and so is the return of Dick Advocaat as their head coach.
At 78, he is set to be the oldest coach in World Cup history when he takes charge of this game. I remember facing his Rangers side when I was at Celtic and he is such a smart guy and a really wily manager.
I am covering this game for 5 Live too and it is strange there is so little expectation around Germany at this tournament – they are usually among the favourites but did not get out of their group in 2018 or 2022.
They should make it to the knockout stages this time, however, and I think they will begin with a win. Curacao will sit deep and defend in numbers, but Germany will find a way through.