Germany Put Seven Past Curaçao. Then Two German Players Knelt Down in the Losers' Prayer Circle.
On 14 June, Curaçao played the first World Cup match in their country's history and were beaten 7–1 by Germany.
When it ended, several Curaçao players and coaching staff did what they had planned to do either way. They gathered on the pitch, knelt, and prayed.
Two German players walked over and knelt with them — Jonathan Tah and Felix Nmecha, from the side that had just put seven past them.
"We are all Christians and we are brothers," Nmecha said afterwards. "Jesus is glorified through the game."
Nmecha had already marked one of his goals that night by kneeling and turning his hands down over his head — the "crown down" gesture, glory handed back. "All the glory I give to God," he said, "because he is the one who has given me this talent."
He was not the only one at this tournament. Croatia's Kristijan Jakić and Igor Matanović had spent a press conference before the England match talking about what their faith does for them — faith simply means everything in our lives. Mark McKenzie led a prayer on the field after the United States beat Paraguay 4–1, on a squad where Christian Pulisic runs a Bible study the players call Bible Time. Lionel Messi, after the first World Cup hat-trick of his career, said: "thank God that he has given me so much and everything that comes now is a blessing."
But the Curaçao circle is the one worth sitting with, because it is the only one that cost something. It is easy to thank God at 3–0 up. Kneeling on the same grass where you have just been beaten 7–1, in front of a stadium and your own country watching its first ever World Cup match end that way, is a different act entirely.
And the Germans did not have to walk over. Nothing about winning required it.
5Talents
Written by the 5Talents editorial desk.