The pressure is enormous. The German national team celebrated a brilliant victory against Slovakia and immediately qualified for next year’s World Cup. The team left no doubt about the 6-0 score for a second.
With the aim of rushing to America! The transformed national team shows all criticism and completes the 2026 World Cup qualification with a long-missed football celebration. Double packer Leroy Sané (36th/41st minutes), top scorer Nick Woltemade (18th) and Serge Gnabry (29th) dispelled all doubts in the first half – and relieved national coach Julian Nagelsmann of all playoff fears.
Ridle Baku (67′) and newcomer Assan Ouédraogo (79′) just two minutes after a substitution made it 6-0 (4-0) in their home game in Leipzig against their helpless Slovak pursuers.
After the biggest win and by far the best performance in a qualifying round that took a lot of tension and energy, Nagelsmann can now get to grips with his big goals in the World Cup.
Despite all the celebrations of a victory achieved with team spirit, determination and a lot of joy, the deficit in recent months cannot be forgotten. To truly be able to compete with World Cup favorites like Argentina, Spain and France in seven months, Nagelsmann still has to work hard.
Lots of draws in Washington
As the final major official act of the year, the national coaches traveled to Washington for the group draw on December 5. Then it will be determined who the three opponents will be in the preliminary round of the mega tournament which will be attended by 48 teams from June 11 to July 19 in America, Mexico and Canada. Germany cannot be left out of the XXL World Cup.
World association FIFA has not officially confirmed the draw procedure. At the moment, it can be assumed that the DFB selection will be one of the twelve teams in Pot 1. Therefore, group duels with tough opponents are ruled out, much to Nagelsmann’s relief.
To avoid a risky playoff rush, the national coach is not shying away from any risks. Joshua Kimmich and Nico Schlotterbeck, who were recently injured, returned to start the all-or-nothing game.
Kimmich leads – and leads by example
Kimmich had to come back to prevent a bad start like the 2-0 win against the Luxembourg football team. And it works very well. The DFB team had several good chances in the first 15 minutes. Gnabry with a header (4), Schlotterbeck from a corner (9) and Florian Wirtz (15) after a decisive win on a ball from Kimmich did not take advantage of it.
The offensively oriented DFB team left no doubt that they wanted to determine the course of the match themselves and, above all, from the start – and not speculate about a draw which would also have been enough. Slovakia, on the other hand, started surprisingly defensively and, as in the spectacular 2-0 coup in September, relied on quick counter-attacks.
Gnabry forgives and scores
Unlike in Bratislava, in Leipzig it was the German team who scored first. After the corner, the DFB team was full of attention with the second ball – Kimmich crossed from the right straight onto the head of Woltemade, who only had to fall asleep after the five-point shot. Nagelsmann’s emotional outburst on the touchline showed what a relief the first goal was for the German team.
Bayern forward Gnabry initially missed a big chance when he raced towards goal alone, but he did better a few minutes later. After being set up by Bayern team-mates Aleksandar Pavlovic and Leon Goretzka, the veteran scored to make it 2-0 – it was a goal made in Munich.
From then on, what mattered most was the number of wins. Germany’s hunger for goals was unquenchable – and from then on their hunger was satisfied by the minute. First, Wirtz sent Sané, who was off the pitch, from his own half – 3-0. Then Wirtz catches the ball himself and passes it back to Sané – 4-0.
German fans were unbound and full of joy
For Wirtz, who is in crisis at Liverpool, and Sané who returns from the DFB, this break is a peace of mind after much debate in recent weeks. This also applies to the German fans, who have seen a lot of noise in the qualifiers this autumn – and this time they were able to sing “Oh, how beautiful it is” with a feeling of detachment and joy.
After a good hour, Nagelsmann was able to take Kimmich and Schlotterbeck off the pitch with a clear conscience. The national coach embraced his powerful captain with a smile on the touchline – and then watched as Kimmich’s deputy Baku also got on the scoresheet after being set up by Gnabry. On a night when everything was going well, that was also the case for debutant Ouédraogo, who completed half a dozen.
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