New Delhi, June 15 -- For 37 minutes on Sunday, Curacao stayed with four-time champion Germany, with the World Cup first-timers daring to believe they could pull off the unimaginable.

Livano Comenencia tied it with his left-footed shot through traffic from the center of the box in the 21st minute to give Curacao its first goal in the tournament and send fans of the Blue Wave into a frenzy.

But Germany broke a 1-1 tie in the 38th minute and overwhelmed this tiny Caribbean nation after that, running away with the game for a 7-1 victory in the group stage.

"This is not a disgrace," Curacao coach Dick Advocaat said. "I think we can still be proud."

It was an emotional day for the 78-year-old Advocaat, a World Cup veteran who previously co...