Expert Picks

Typically, I wouldn’t love laying big numbers like this, but Germany should feast against a Curaçao team that has been outscored 11-2 over its last three matches. Giving up two goals to China while failing to score is embarrassing enough, but Curaçao also conceded five to Australia and four to Scotland. This feels like a team coming into the World Cup ready to celebrate a great qualification story, but not necessarily one built to slow down a high-octane Germany side. Defensively, Curaçao should struggle badly here, especially against a Germany team that will be eager to put the failures of the last World Cup behind them.

Germany is a team that has been shrouded with disappointment over the last decade. This is a team full of quality football heritage, but they've struggled against teams they have no business struggling against. This is their chance to put all the nonsense behind them, and have a good World Cup, and they've been given a gift of an opening match. If Germany tries for 90 minutes, they could score 10 goals here. I don't believe they'll go all out, but they should use this game to pick up some confidence before facing harder opponents, so expect them to run it up for at least a half.