This is as one-sided as a World Cup fixture gets. Germany begin their campaign at NRG Stadium in Houston against Curacao, the smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the tournament and a side making their debut on this stage. It is the first-ever meeting between the two nations at any level, and the gulf in resources could hardly be wider.

Germany's only question mark is in goal, where 40-year-old Manuel Neuer is carrying a minor calf issue but is expected to start. In front of him sits a roster most countries can only dream of: Joshua Kimmich and Jonathan Tah anchoring, Leroy Sane, Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz providing the kind of creativity that overwhelms organized defenses. Curacao lean on experience — goalkeeper Eloy Room, veteran midfielder Leandro Bacuna and qualifying top-scorer Gervane Kastaneer — and their game plan is obvious: sit deep, stay compact, and try to keep the score respectable.

The AI calls Germany 3-0 at 75% confidence, one of its higher-conviction reads of the round. The realistic Curacao ambition is to delay the opener and avoid a rout; the realistic Germany ambition is to build goal difference in a group where Ecuador and Cote d'Ivoire will be tougher. Once Germany break through — and they will — the margin should grow quickly.