Germany have come into this World Cup ranked at No. 10. They have been among the10 best teams in the world for a long time but, after their 2014 triumph, they have twice failed to come out of the first round, tarnishing their reputation of being a fearsome tournament team.

Tarnished doesn’t mean eradicated and, while they have fallen down the totem pole of the best teams in the world, it would take a brave pundit to bet against them.

At 1-1 against Curacao, maybe there might have been some jitters, but when the scoreline read 7-1 at the end, optimism in Germany’s ruthless efficiency returned.