Deniz Undav, the Kurdish-Yazidi forward we previously profiled, stole the show in his first match of the World Cup. In Germany's Group E opener, a 7-1 win over Curaçao, Undav came off the bench and produced 1 goal and 2 assists in roughly 26 minutes.
A substitute who made history
Head coach Julian Nagelsmann started Kai Havertz; Undav came on in the 64th minute. He made an immediate impact: he set up Nathaniel Brown's goal in the 69th minute (5-1), scored himself in the 78th (his 7th goal in his 10th international appearance), and assisted Havertz's final goal in the 88th.
A first since 1966
With this performance, Undav became the third German player since 1966 to both score and assist in a World Cup match (after Rudi Völler in 1986 and Niclas Füllkrug in 2022). According to ESPN, he is the second German to assist two goals in a World Cup game as a substitute (after Pierre Littbarski in 1990). Sofascore gave him a match rating of 8.9.
A night of records
Germany's 7-1 win was the largest margin of this tournament so far, and the heaviest defeat for a World Cup debutant since 1954 (South Korea 0-9 Hungary). The victory also took Germany past Brazil (238) as the all-time top scorers in World Cup history, with 239 goals.
Why it matters
The player Werder Bremen once released for being "too short" is now making a difference on the world's biggest stage in a Germany shirt. For the Kurdish diaspora in Europe, Undav's rise reads as an example of reaching the top without hiding one's identity.
Note: The score, statistics and records are based on international sources such as Opta, ESPN, Reuters and Sofascore. Amedspor News reports neutrally.