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Following his side's loss to Germany in their debut FIFA World Cup match, Curacao manager Dick Advocaat encouraged his side, saying that "they need to turn this into a beautiful tournament", adding that they could surprise in their next two group stage matches.
Curacao managed to send the German camp into distress for a brief period with a 21st-minute equaliser by Livano Comenencia, but the four-time champions came back with a vengeance in the second half, curb-stomping Curacao in a 7-1 victory with standout contributions from Kai Havertz and Deniz Undav. Despite the defeat, Advocaat has encouraged his players to "not be downcast", noting that the loss is "not a disgrace". Following the match, Advocaat was quoted as saying by Reuters, "We need to turn this into a beautiful tournament. We can have a surprise in the second and third matches. In the end, we will be glad we were part of the biggest football tournament in the world." Advocaat said that despite the heavy scoreline, their players have nothing to be ashamed of, even if they could not do as well as they expected. "We had expected to do more against Germany, but we could not. They were very, very strong, and we conceded some easy goals," he said. "Players know if they lose, they should not be downcast. This is not a disgrace," he added. The manager was also appreciative of the support from the fans who travelled to the US, even when Germany kept on piling on goals. He also spoke on stepping back in the team dugout during the playing of the national anthem, saying that the moment was too emotional for him. "This is related to the joy of the people in Curacao. This is when the emotions come to the surface. The joy of the people is fantastic," he signed off. Curacao made history by scoring a goal on their World Cup debut against four-time champions Germany. (ANI)
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