GERMANY began their World Cup campaign with a 7-1 win over debutants Curacao on Sunday, while Japan came from behind twice to draw 2-2 with the Netherlands and Iran finally arrived in the United States ahead of their opening match.
Curacao, the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the tournament, made an encouraging start against four-time champions Germany in Houston when Livano Comenencia scored an early equaliser to give the Caribbean nation of 160,000 people its first World Cup goal.
Felix Nmecha had opened the scoring for Germany, who then took control of the contest. Kai Havertz scored once in each half, including from the penalty spot, as Germany secured a comfortable victory.
Germany had struggled in recent World Cups, and this was the first time they had won their opening match at the tournament since lifting the trophy in 2014.
"It took us a few minutes to get back into the game after they equalized. Curacao can play football too, as we saw, and I'm curious to see how they'll fare in the group going forward," said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.
"I'm very satisfied with us scoring seven goals and our performance for the most part. A winning start is always important and we're glad we managed it," he added.
Curacao will now look to their remaining Group E matches against Ecuador and Ivory Coast.
"It is not embarrassing to lose like that against such a team," said their 78-year-old Dutch coach Dick Advocaat.
Elsewhere on Sunday, Japan earned a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands after coming from behind twice.
Captain Virgil van Dijk gave the Dutch the lead with a header at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. Keito Nakamura levelled soon after before winger Crysencio Summerville restored the Netherlands' advantage just after the hour with a curled finish into the bottom corner.
Japan secured a point in the 89th minute when a deflected effort credited to Daichi Kamada found the net.
In Philadelphia, Manchester United's Amad Diallo scored in the 90th minute to give Ivory Coast a 1-0 win over Ecuador in Group E.
Later on Sunday, Sweden opened their Group F campaign with a 5-1 victory over Tunisia in Monterrey, Mexico.
Sweden, who qualified for the World Cup through the play-offs after their Nations League performances, scored through Yasin Ayari twice, while Alexander Isak, Viktor Gyokeres and Mattias Svanberg also found the net.
"Great goals, five goals, solid and we could have scored more," Sweden's English coach Graham Potter said. "Full credit to the players. They were fantastic."
Off the pitch, attention shifted to Los Angeles, where Iran's players arrived in the United States after months of uncertainty before the tournament following the United States and Israel's military assault on the Islamic Republic.
Iran moved their training base to Tijuana in Mexico from Arizona because of diplomatic disputes and will face New Zealand in Group G on Monday.
The team was forced to leave some support staff in Tijuana after the United States declined visas for administrative and management personnel.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference shortly after Tehran and Washington announced a peace deal to end the conflict, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said political tensions and visa issues had affected his team's preparations.
However, Ghalenoei said his players would not "pay attention to any of the hype".
Members of the Iranian diaspora opposed to the country's hardline regime are planning protests outside SoFi Stadium on Monday, and there have been threats that the Iran team could leave the field if anti-government banners are displayed.
"We are here to perform a good match, a high-quality match. We don't pay attention to any of the hype and anything that goes on around us," Ghalenoei said in response to a question from AFP.
The coach said his team were at the World Cup to "represent the respectful people of Iran, be it the Iranians inside Iran or the Iranian diaspora".
"We are not political people... football is separate from politics," said Ghalenoei.
(With inputs from agencies)
