Germany player ratings vs Curaçao: Nmecha, Brown and Undav lead the way

Germany’s 1-7 World Cup opener was defined as much by the ratings as by the scoreline. Felix Nmecha, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav all drew the eye, while Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala and Joshua Kimmich also landed strong marks in a dominant Germany display.

How the new faces stood out

Nmecha set the tone early, curling in from the edge of the box after trading passes with Florian Wirtz to put Germany ahead after 6 minutes. He ended with an 8.6 rating, the best among the starters in the supplied match data.

Nathaniel Brown was just as noticeable from left back. He supplied the cross for Nico Schlotterbeck’s 38th-minute header, then scored Germany’s fifth goal for his first international goal. Brown’s 8.0 backs up the idea that this was more than a quiet debut-window cameo.

Deniz Undav came off the bench and produced the biggest individual return of the night, with a goal and two assists. His 8.9 rating was the highest for Germany and fits the view that his impact changed the feel of the game once the match was already opening up.

Havertz, Musiala and Kimmich kept the level high

Curaçao briefly made the evening awkward when L. Comenencia scored their maiden World Cup goal in the 21st minute with a deflected strike. Germany still had enough quality to keep pulling away, and Kai Havertz finished with a brace after scoring in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot and again in the 88th minute.

Musiala also rated 8.2 after scoring once, while Kimmich matched that mark with two assists and five key passes. Julian Nagelsmann told goal.com: "Tougher opponents will follow, and questions will continue to be asked of Sane's inclusion, but he can be pretty happy with his team's performance and, of course, the result."

That feels fair. The new names grabbed the headlines in the ratings, but Germany still had established starters putting up strong numbers across the pitch. The next test will tell us more about whether Germany can keep that balance, starting with the next match in the tournament.