Julian Nagelsmann once dropped him from the squad; he narrowly avoided prison: Germany's World Cup reunion with a repeat offender

As a former colony, Curaçao remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to this day, though it enjoys a high degree of autonomy within it. Over the years, thousands of Curaçaoans have moved to the Netherlands, and their descendants now form the backbone of the national team, which has been recognised by FIFA since 2010. Of the 26 players in the current World Cup squad, only one was born on the island. That player is arguably the best known internationally: Tahith Chong. 

Chong once made the leap to the professional ranks at Manchester United, playing a total of 16 competitive matches before spending a rather unsuccessful six-month spell at Werder Bremen in 2021. That makes the midfielder, who now plays for Sheffield United, one of six squad members with German football experience. Gervane Kastaneer once played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Riechedly Bazoer for VfL Wolfsburg, Roshon van Eijma for Preußen Münster, and Jürgen Locadia and Joshua Brenet for TSG Hoffenheim.

Right-back Brenet moved from PSV Eindhoven to Hoffenheim in 2018 for €3.5 million, partly at the instigation of the current Germany manager, Julian Nagelsmann. He was a three-time Eredivisie champion and had made two appearances for the Netherlands national team. At TSG, however, Brenet proved to be a costly flop. Having spent the first Bundesliga matches following his transfer on the bench, he skipped a video session ahead of Hoffenheim's very first Champions League match against Shakhtar Donetsk, whereupon Nagelsmann dropped him from the squad. 

Although Nagelsmann later readmitted him, Brenet made only sporadic appearances for the rest of the campaign. Successor Alfred Schreuder—now Nagelsmann's assistant at the DFB—never selected him, and Sebastian Hoeneß eventually demoted him to the reserves in the fourth-tier Regionalliga Südwest. Repeated disciplinary issues, including chronic lateness, further compounded his reputation, and Hoffenheim could not secure a buyer until he finally moved to Twente Enschede on a free transfer in 2022.

Although he once again impressed on the pitch, off the field he completely shot himself in the foot. In January 2023, Brenet was caught driving without a licence twice in the space of just two weeks. He had lost his licence in 2020 following a drink-driving offence.

"He clearly has no regard for authority. It seems to me as though he is continuing to play football after receiving a red card," remarked the presiding judge, sentencing Brenet to a one-month prison term in 2024. Back in 2021, he had already received a suspended sentence—including a fine and community service—for domestic violence. Although the prison term for driving without a licence was later converted to community service on appeal, Twente terminated his contract regardless.

He then joined Al-Rayyan in Qatar, making only six appearances in the 2024/25 season, before moving to Livingston FC in Scotland last autumn and then to Kayserispor in Turkey for the second half of the campaign. He is now representing Curaçao at the World Cup. Although Brenet has played numerous matches for various Dutch youth national teams and even featured for Oranje in World Cup qualifiers in 2016, FIFA granted him special permission to play for his parents' homeland.

Since debuting for Curaçao in 2024, he has scored six goals in 17 appearances. In the final warm-up against Aruba, he started at right-back and found the net. On Sunday at 7 pm, the 32-year-old and his teammates will open their World Cup campaign against Germany—and former coaches Nagelsmann and Schreuder.