Houston (AFP) – Curacao’s World Cup debut may have ended in a reality check of a 7-1 hammering by four-time champions Germany on Sunday, but it “is nothing to be ashamed of,” said their head coach Dick Advocaat. The 78-year-old, the oldest coach to appear at a World Cup finals, had been out of his seat when a deflected strike from Livano Comenencia levelled the match at 1-1. However, Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz with a double, Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown, and Deniz Undav scored to put to bed any possibility of one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history.
“It is not embarrassing to lose like that against such a team,” said Advocaat at the post-match press conference in Houston. “This team (Germany) is worth 850 million and Curacao, 25.” Curacao, the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the tournament, had hoped to pull off a giant-killing exploit “but it was not to be,” said Advocaat. “They were simply too strong and we gave away too many easy goals,” lamented Advocaat, who was also present at the previous World Cup hosted in the US, 32 years ago, when he was in charge of the Dutch.
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Advocaat, who returned to take charge of Curacao after stepping aside in February when his daughter fell ill, said his and his staff’s task was to restore morale ahead of next Saturday’s Group E game against Ecuador. “Obviously 7-1 is a heavy defeat,” he said. “We must make sure no one’s head drops, that they do not remain in a bad state of mind. But I am not too worried about that happening.”
Advocaat, who wiped away tears before the kick-off, said the heavy defeat was made up for by the “fantastic scenes of happiness in the stands” from the fans fondly known as the ‘Blue Wave’. “It is already formidable what we achieved in qualifying for the finals,” he said. “And we should be conscious of that. All we need to do is simply show the best of ourselves here.”
Advocaat added even if Curacao does not cause an upset in the remaining group games — Ivory Coast await in the final match — “we will still be happy to have competed at the biggest event in the world.”
© 2024 AFP
