World Cup Daily: Germany puts a stop to Curacao fairytale |
Goals, goals and more goals.
Sunday produced a flood of steady offence at the World Cup — and the day isn’t over yet. Fourteen goals were produced through the opening three matches, with 13 different players finding the back of the net.
Australia shone in its debut in Vancouver in the first of seven matches slated to take place in the West Coast city. Germany was relentless, putting the hammer to World Cup newcomers Curaçao, and the Netherlands and Japan put on an attacking clinic in the second half of their tightly contested affair.
Two more games are still to come on Sunday — Ivory Coast vs. Ecuador in Philadelphia (7:00 p.m. ET) and Sweden vs. Tunisia in Monterrey (10:00 p.m. ET).
Here are the biggest takeaways so far from Day 4.
Group D: Australia 2, Turkey 0 | Match report | Match stats
Group E: Germany 7, Curaçao 1 | Match report | Match stats
Group F: Netherlands 2, Japan 2 | Match report | Match stats
Australia takes over Vancouver – literally and figuratively
Vancouver dipped its toes in World Cup waters when it hosted its first match, and it was quite the spectacle both on and off the pitch. Australia was fully deserving of its 2-0 win over Turkey, secured thanks to goals from Nestory Irankunda and Connor Metcalfe, and an eight-save effort from 22–year-old goalkeeper Patrick Beach, who was only playing in his third match for his country.
In doing so, the Aussies sent a message to the United States that it’ll have a fight on its hands for top spot in Group D. There was an electric atmosphere inside BC Place as the yellow-clad Socceroos supporters were in excellent voice, cheering on their heroes to just their fifth World Cup victory. But that was........