Germany – Slovakia 6:0 (4:0)
After a gala 6-0 performance against Slovakia, the German national football team qualified for the 2026 World Cup. At halftime, the score was 4-0 in Leipzig to the DFB team who finished first in the qualifying group. One of the match winners was Leroy Sané, who scored two goals and provided one assist. But someone else started it: Nick Woltemade headed in Kimmich’s cross in the 18th minute to take an early lead. This was followed by goals from Serge Gnabry (29th minute) and the same double by Leroy Sané (36th and 41st minutes). The Leipzig crowd celebrated the national team with thunderous applause and chants of “Oh, how beautiful it is.”
After the break, Ridle Baku and debutant Assan Ouédraogo even increased their lead. In the end, the DFB team achieved a victory that was never in danger thereby putting aside any doubts regarding qualifying for the tournament in the US, Mexico and Canada.
There’s a lot at stake for DFB coach Julian Nagelsmann and his team in the clash with second-placed Slovakia: If they lose, Germany will have to worry about qualifying for the World Cup and the play-offs are just around the corner. The team around captain Joshua Kimmich, who returned to the starting line-up after injury and immediately benefited the German team’s play, withstood the pressure.
Nagelsmann was relieved after the final whistle sounded
Kimmich said after the match at ZDF: “We knew when we reached the top level that we would win. The coach managed us well. It was a very, very strong game.” Everyone knows what’s at stake. “The World Cup is the biggest thing for a player. In Germany, you are not used to equal qualifiers.”
National coach Julian Nagelsmann also felt relieved after the final whistle sounded. “I’m proud of the team. We had a difficult start in qualifying, today there was pressure on us.” Everyone played a good game and worked hard. “We scored great goals and were very convincing in terms of football.”
The 6-0 win was by far the best performance by a DFB team in World Cup qualifying. This was not expected after the poor football match against Luxembourg last Friday (2-0). The first leg against Slovakia was also a bad memory; Germany suffered a 2-0 defeat in Bratislava and have to worry a lot about direct qualification for the World Cup.
“Fun to watch”
New number one forward Nick Woltemade praised the team’s performance after the win: “We played a really good game. We didn’t allow any mistakes from the first minute. I thought it was fun to watch.”
The World Cup group draw will resume in Washington in early December. On December 5 it will be determined in the US capital who the German team will face in the preliminary round of the World Cup.
The Netherlands also got its ticket to the 2026 World Cup
As expected, the Netherlands also qualified for the 2026 World Cup. In the final qualifying match they beat Lithuania 4-0 (1-0). Tijjani Reijnders (16th minute), Cody Gakpo (58), Xavi Simons (60) and Donyell Malen (62) scored goals for coach Ronald Koeman’s team.
However, Poland, who was chasing them, could barely catch up with the Netherlands and now had to qualify for the play-offs. The team won 3:2 (1:1) against foreign team Malta. Robert Lewandowski (32), Paweł Wszołek (59) and Piotr Zieliński (85) scored for the Polish team. Irvin Cardona (36) and Teddy Teuma (68/penalty) scored for Malta.
