World Cup weekend highlights: Germany flexes, Japan answers, Scotland finally breathes

The first World Cup weekend delivered what the expanded 48-team format promised: more games, more jeopardy and a few results that will already shape the group-stage mood.

Germany produced the loudest statement, beating Curaçao 7-1 in Houston in a Group E opener that became a reminder of the gap between an established contender and the tournament’s smallest-ever qualifier. Curaçao still claimed its own moment when Livano Comenencia scored the country’s first World Cup goal, briefly making it 1-1 before Germany’s depth took over. Kai Havertz scored twice, six German players found the net and Julian Nagelsmann’s side left with the cleanest early message of any heavyweight so far.

The best game of the weekend was Netherlands 2, Japan 2. The Dutch twice went ahead in Dallas through Virgil van Dijk and Crysencio Summerville, with Ryan Gravenberch assisting both goals, but Japan came back both times. Daichi Kamada’s 88th-minute equalizer turned Group F from a straightforward Dutch launch into a live argument. Japan did not dominate the ball, but it kept asking questions until the Netherlands ran out of control.

Early Upsets and Close Calls

Australia supplied the early shock, beating Türkiye 2-0 in Vancouver. Nestory Irankunda opened the scoring and Connor Metcalfe added the second, giving the Socceroos their first opening-game World Cup win since 2006. For Türkiye, it was a damaging start: not just a loss, but a performance that immediately turns the next group match into a pressure game.

Brazil and Morocco gave the weekend its marquee stalemate. Morocco led through Ismael Saibari, Brazil responded through Vinicius Junior, and the 1-1 draw left Group C balanced rather than defined. Morocco again looked like a side comfortable against elite opposition after its 2022 semifinal run, while Brazil showed enough attacking threat to avoid panic but not enough control to look settled.

Scotland’s 1-0 win over Haiti was less elegant but just as meaningful. John McGinn’s deflected first-half strike gave Scotland its first World Cup victory since 1990, and with Brazil and Morocco drawing, Steve Clarke’s team finished the weekend on top of Group C. Haiti had enough chances to make Scotland sweat, which keeps the result from feeling fully convincing, but the table does not care about style this early.

Group Stage Dynamics

Qatar also changed the tone of Group B with a late 1-1 draw against Switzerland. Boualem Khoukhi’s stoppage-time header delivered Qatar’s first-ever World Cup point and punished Switzerland for failing to turn long spells of control into a second goal. In a group where Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina also opened with a draw, that late goal kept everyone level after one round.

Côte d’Ivoire and Ecuador finished 0-0 in Philadelphia, a result that looked quiet on the scoreboard but still carried weight after Germany’s rout earlier in Group E. Ecuador hit the bar twice, Côte d’Ivoire threatened through pace and transition, and both sides left with something useful but incomplete. The danger for both is obvious: with Germany already three points and six goals clear, missed chances may matter quickly.

One more match closes the weekend slate: Sweden vs. Tunisia in Monterrey at 10 p.m. ET. After the Netherlands and Japan shared points, Sweden have a chance to take early command of Group F; Tunisia have a chance to turn that group into the tournament’s first real traffic jam.