- Germany won its World Cup qualifier against Luxembourg.
- The DFB team won 2-0, but showed a weak performance.
- Nick Woltemade scored both goals for the Germans.
- A draw against Slovakia is now enough for direct World Cup qualification.
Rumbling victory instead of a celebration of goals: The road to the World Cup remains a football torture for Julian Nagelsmann and the fans of the national team. Without their injured captain and leader Joshua Kimmich, the DFB team averted an embarrassment against Luxembourg after an indisputable first half thanks to a brace from Nick Woltemade.
The center forward (49th/69th minute) redeemed the DFB team, which was plagued by many failures and was disappointing in all respects, in the Stade de Luxembourg, which was sold out with 9,214 spectators, with his goals for a flattering 2-0 (0-0) mandatory win against the outsiders who had no points but played with a lot of passion.
Good news: a draw on Monday is enough
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The title goal once loudly proclaimed by Nagelsmann is unrealistic seven months before the start of the World Cup after a discouraged and uninspired performance against the world number 97.
For the first time under Nagelsmann as national coach, there are four wins and three games without conceding a goal in a row in the statistics. But the manner of success does not give rise to any hope of a brilliant World Cup summer. At the premiere of the new World Cup jerseys, reminiscent of the 1990 triumph, nothing came together.
Group A
The only good news after a sobering evening of football in the Grand Duchy: A draw against Slovakia in Leipzig on Monday is enough to defend first place in Group A and book a direct ticket to the finals in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
If there is another defeat against the Slovaks, as happened 0-2 in the first leg in Bratislava, the four-time world champion will have to win nerve-wracking playoff games again after 24 years in order to avert a first-time failure in a World Cup qualification.
Group G
The Dutch national team still has to wait. After a 1:1 (0:1) in Poland, Bond coach Ronald Koeman’s selection still has a three point lead over Poland and a significantly better goal difference, which means that participation in the World Cup should only be a formality.
The Poles have to win big in Malta on the last matchday, hope for a clear defeat for the Netherlands against Lithuania and catch up by 13 goals in order to win the group. Poland is assured of second place and thus participation in the playoffs.
The Finnish national team suffered a surprising 0-1 (0-0) home defeat against Malta. For the Maltese, who achieved their first success in this year’s World Cup qualification and only scored their second goal, Jake Grech (81st) scored the victory.
Group L
The Croatian national team became the third team from Europe to book their ticket to the Football World Cup after England and France. A 3:1 (1:1) over the Faroe Islands gave the Croatian team victory in Group L.
Croatia initially had a hard time against the outsiders. After Geza David Turi gave the Faroe Islands the lead in the 16th minute, former Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol (23rd), Petar Musa (57th) and Nikola Vlasic (70th) scored for Croatia. Due to the defeat, the Faroe Islands no longer have a chance of second place.
You can find an overview of all World Cup qualifying groups in Europe here.
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Nils Hänggi (nih) has been at 20 minutes since 2019. He is a sports editor and part of the Social Responsibility Board. He often writes about football.
