World Cup day 4: Germany thrashes (7-1), Japan resurrects and Sweden warns

There are debuts and then there are statements of intent. The fourth day of the World Cup was a goal fest, and Germany decided to make their presence felt in spectacular fashion.

The Mannschaft hammered Curaçao 7-1, the smallest nation ever to qualify for a World Cup, with Kai Havertz playing on cheat mode (two goals). But the real heartwarmer: the Caribbean side scored their first ever World Cup goal through Livano Comenencia. Huge celebration for an island of 156,000 people… even if the scoreline did sting a bit.

The match of the day, though, was elsewhere: Japan salvaged a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, who thought they'd already pocketed the three points. The Japanese equalised late on (Ogawa header) and the Oranje went home wearing that classic "how on earth did we just throw that away?" expression we all know too well.

Meanwhile, Sweden reminded everyone they're still in the tournament with a 5-1 thrashing of Tunisia (Ayari bagged a brace, plus Isak and Gyökeres—familiar faces from the Premier League), and Ivory Coast ground out a hard-fought 1-0 win over Ecuador with Amad Diallo's 90th-minute strike, the kind of goal that books your ticket to the next round.

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