FIFA World Cup 2026 Live updates: Germany thump Curacao 7-1 as Japan take on the Netherlands

The Michael Jackson dance can wait. The sequinned glove can stay in the back pocket for next time.

For his first big moment on the global stage, the most important day of his life so far, Nestory Irankunda made all the right decisions – from the touch that brought down the ball, to the placement of his finish, to the celebration that followed, steeped in Socceroos mythology.

After latching onto a marvellous long ball from Paul Okon jnr, slipping between two Turkish defenders and sliding his first World Cup goal into the bottom-left corner, Irankunda ran straight to his nearest corner flag and started shadowboxing – a trademark of Tim Cahill, Australia’s greatest performer on this stage, and, right up until that ball rolled over that line, the Socceroos’ last true household name.

Atlanta: The Somali referee who was denied entry to the United States for the World Cup will still be paid his full tournament fee.

A person with knowledge of the situation told the Associated Press that Omar Artan will still be entitled to payment despite not officiating any games at the near six-week long event. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

They said the fee would be determined after the tournament concludes next month.

Artan is one of soccer’s top officials and was named Africa’s best male referee in 2025. But the Somali national was denied entry after arriving at Miami International Airport from Istanbul last week.

Houston: Germany began their World Cup campaign with a thumping 7-1 victory over debutants Curacao on Sunday in a match where history was made on several fronts and the one-sided result could not overshadow the occasion for the island nation.

Germany’s Felix Nmecha scored the fastest goal of the tournament so far, after six minutes, and Nico Schlotterbeck, Kai Havertz (two), Jamal Musiala, Nathaniel Brown and Deniz Undav also netted in an easy outing for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.

But the biggest cheer from the 68,021 crowd came for Livano Comenencia’s 21st-minute equaliser for Curacao, their first goal at a World Cup as they became the smallest nation by population size and area to play at the global finals.

Curacao’s sizeable support enjoyed their historic day out under Dick Advocaat, who became the oldest coach in World Cup history at the age of 78, and cheered to the end on an occasion perhaps most believed would never come.