Curaçao’s coach Dick Advocaat is super proud of his team, even though they lost 7-1 to Germany in their first-ever World Cup match. He praised their fighting spirit and said scoring their first-ever goal against a giant like Germany was a huge moment.
Houston: They may have lost 7-1 to giants Germany in their first-ever FIFA World Cup match, but there’s no gloom in the Curaçao camp. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
Coach Dick Advocaat, who at 78 became the oldest coach in World Cup history, was actually beaming with pride when he spoke to the media. He couldn’t stop praising the brave performance his small Caribbean nation put up against a football powerhouse.
“For a country with a population of just 1,58,000 to come to the world stage and shake a team like Germany is no small thing. There are a lot of positives to take from this loss,” he explained. “Facing a world-class team like Germany in your very first World Cup match is a massive challenge for anyone. The result might not be in our favour, but I am completely satisfied with the discipline and courage my players showed on the field. I am very proud of them,” he said.
Advocaat added, “Scoring Curaçao’s first-ever World Cup goal, and that too against Germany, is a historic moment. The joy that Livano Comenencia’s goal gave to millions back home is beyond words. The fact that we managed to make the score 1-1 at one point doubled our confidence.”
He said the match was a real eye-opener about the intensity of World Cup football. He admitted that a few small mistakes in defence led to the big scoreline. Advocaat promised that the team will make strategic changes for the upcoming group matches and expressed full confidence in their ability to qualify for the next stage.