World Cup 2026 Sunday takeaways: Germany arrives with a bang

Times have changed; Germany has pulled itself together and is expected to make a deep run at the 2026 World Cup. It was fitting, then, to see it kick off its tournament with that same 7-1 scoreline that defined its run twelve years ago. Its victim was a little less impressive this time — the tiny Caribbean island of Curacao, making its World Cup debut — but still, that 7-1 win felt like a grand return for the Germans. They're not here to mess around this time. Germany 7-1 Curacao

The Netherlands and Japan proved stereotypes aren't always based in reality

The odds were heavily in favor of the Dutch as the Netherlands and Japan prepared to open their World Cup accounts against one another in Dallas, Texas. Why? Their perceived aerial threat. Even Fox's television commentators were quick to point out that the Dutch, famously, were tall, and the Japanese, famously, were not. Surely, they mused, that would give the Dutch a big advantage on set pieces.

Yeah ... about that. Six of Japan's 11 starters were above six feet tall, and while this game was decided by a flying header, it was Japan who scored it, not the Netherlands. Fox's commentators were quick to apologize for their error. Lesson learned: don't rely on stereotypes to predict World Cup results. Netherlands 2-2 Japan

The crossbar had a really good game

Ecuador versus Cote d'Ivoire was always going to be a banger. The two nations are underrated on the world stage but poised for a breakout summer: Ecuador entered this World Cup having beat Argentina in World Cup qualifying while Cote d'Ivoire entered it having beat France in a pre-tournament friendly. The two nations traded blows for 89 minutes before Manchester United winger Amad Diallo found a breakthrough ball and gave les elephants all three points.

Ecuador could, and probably should, feel a little aggrieved by the final result. It struck Cote d'Ivoire's crossbar on three separate occasions and more than lived up to its billing as one of the world's dark horse talents. Just a few inches in either direction would've made this a very different night for the two teams ... but as things finished, Cote d'Ivoire's crossbar wound up making the three biggest plays across this full day of World Cup soccer. Ecuador 0-1 Cote d'Ivoire

The World Cup will continue on Monday with Spain versus Cabo Verde, Belgium versus Egypt, Uruguay versus Saudi Arabia and Iran versus New Zealand.