Germany have set themselves the lofty goal of winning the 2026 World Cup. However, after the opening defeat in the short qualifying phase and ahead of the two mandatory tasks ahead, the calculation is now underway.
10.10.2025, 05:00
10.10.2025, 11:35
SDA
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Germany recently lost their first ever World Cup qualifying match away from home against Slovakia.
- As the goal difference is decisive in the event of a tie before the direct encounter, the Germans must not only win the upcoming games, but also score as many goals as possible.
- In the worst-case scenario, however, Germany would still have the chance to qualify via the play-offs as Nations League finalists.
In 106 World Cup qualifying matches, Germany have only lost four times. The 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in Bratislava just over a month ago was Germany's first ever away defeat in a World Cup qualifier. However, after the upward trend at the home European Championships, it has caused new (minor) self-doubt.
There is limited room for improvement in Germany's group of four, especially as Luxembourg and Northern Ireland will not necessarily be a stumbling block for Slovakia. It is likely that the battle for group victory will be decided at the end of the campaign on Monday, November 17, and it cannot be ruled out that Germany will then be under pressure to secure their place in the World Cup directly.
The call for big wins
The Germans (and the Slovaks) have three must-win games to look forward to before the anticipated showdown in Leipzig. Julian Nagelsmann's team will not only be expected to take full points in the matches against Luxembourg in Sinsheim on Friday and Northern Ireland in Belfast on Monday, but also to score a whole host of goals. In the event of a tie, the goal difference will decide the outcome before the direct encounter.
The home game against Luxembourg, coached by former Bundesliga player Jeff Strasser, is seen by German observers as an ideal opportunity to improve the goal difference, which currently favors Slovakia (3:0 compared to 3:3). "Everyone expects us to beat every opponent 5:0, 6:0. But that's no longer possible. It's just important for us to win. We need win after win," said Mainz's Nadiem Amiri, scorer of the 3-1 win over Northern Ireland last month, dampening expectations of a resounding victory.
Criticism of Nagelsmann
Like Amiri, five other players in the current German squad have scored one international goal. Only four (Florian Wirtz, Joshua Kimmich, Leon Goretzka and Serge Gnabry) have scored multiple times for the four-time world champions. The three strikers called up (Maximilian Beier, Nick Woltemade and Jonathan Burkard) are still without a goal. These are not the kind of figures that herald big wins, let alone big titles.
A few absences, which affect almost every national team at this stage, distort the picture somewhat. In addition to Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Deniz Undav and Tim Kleindienst are also missing through injury. Nevertheless, it is clear that Germany are lacking reliable players. National coach Julian Nagelsmann is still searching for the composition of his squad. In his 25 international matches so far, he has fielded 52 players, including 19 debutants.
The time for experimentation must "finally be over", demanded Germany's record international player Lothar Matthäus in his "Sport Bild" column, criticizing the personnel policy of the headstrong Nagelsmann like some other experts. Despite all the doubts, nobody is assuming that Germany will miss out on World Cup qualification. In the worst-case scenario, Germany, as Nations League finalists, would still have the chance to qualify via the play-offs.
