Curacao hammered Nicaragua 6:1 in the opening match of CONCACAF Nations League League A at Estadio Ergilio Hato on Sunday. The hosts opened the scoring inside six minutes and never looked back, turning what should have been a tight fixture into a procession.
Livano Comenencia struck first at the six-minute mark, followed by Kenji Gorre eleven minutes in. Leandro Bacuna added a third before half-hour, and Juninho Bacuna made it four within minutes of each other. Gorre secured his brace just before the interval with a fifth goal.
Juninho Bacuna picked up a yellow card at twenty-eight minutes, with Justing Cano and Jordi Paulina also cautioned before the break. The hosts made four substitutions at the interval, bringing on Jacob Christian Montes, Efraín Mejía, Shurandy Sambo and Leandro Bacuna off the pitch.
Jaime Moreno pulled one back for Nicaragua at forty-nine minutes, though he too went into the book. Jürgen Locadia added a late sixth for Curacao in the eightieth minute, while Kadeem Cole came on for Nicaragua at sixty-one.
Curasacao dominated possession at fifty-seven per cent and fired thirteen shots on target, with six additional efforts flying wide. Nicaragua managed just one shot on target from thirty-seven attempts, and their goalkeeper made seven saves in a losing cause.
And here's the thing — we had called for a Curacao victory with seventy-three per cent confidence before kickoff. That assessment held water, because the hosts controlled territory and created chances in numbers while the visitors struggled to find rhythm.
The result leaves Curacao with maximum points from their opening League A fixture. Nicaragua will need to regroup quickly, having gone behind twice in the first half and never recovered.
