Nmecha and Musiala score for Germany at World Cup 2026 despite both representing England youth teams

Felix Nmecha and Jamal Musiala scored for Germany in a commanding World Cup 2026 group-stage victory over debutants Curacao in Houston on 14 June, with both players having previously represented England at youth level before switching international allegiance to Die Mannschaft.

Nmecha, the Borussia Dortmund midfielder and brother of Leeds United’s Lukas Nmecha, curled Germany ahead in the sixth minute for his ninth senior cap — a goal that arrived in what was already the third clear chance of the match. He had represented England up to Under-19 level before committing to Germany, where he was born. Musiala, the Bayern Munich playmaker who came through St George’s Park alongside Jude Bellingham and Cole Palmer, netted Germany’s fourth. The 23-year-old had worn an England shirt as recently as the Under-21s before choosing Germany, and has since established himself as the country’s first-choice number ten.

Julian Nagelsmann’s side were dominant throughout, with Nico Schlotterbeck also heading in from a corner to make it 3-1 after Curacao had briefly levelled through FC Zurich midfielder Livano Comenencia in the 20th minute — a goal that marked the Caribbean nation’s first-ever strike at a World Cup finals.

The result gets Germany’s Group E campaign off to a strong start. Ivory Coast and Ecuador, the group’s other two competitors, met later the same day.

England manager Thomas Tuchel — himself German — will have watched the game with a degree of familiarity. Both Nmecha and Musiala were born in Germany and play their club football in the Bundesliga, factors that arguably made their eventual commitment to Die Mannschaft a natural fit, even if their development years were spent in the English system. England are set to open their own World Cup campaign against Croatia.