Leroy Sane struck twice and Assan Ouedraogo swept in lower than two minutes after approaching for his debut as Germany hammered Slovakia to seal direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup and condemn their opponents to the play-offs.
Nick Woltemade headed in returning captain Joshua Kimmich’s cross for his fourth aim in three international matches earlier than Gnabry slotted in from Leon Goretzka’s cross and Sane profited twice from Florian Wirtz assists in the course of the first half.
Slovakia wanted to win to overhaul Germany within the group decider however the guests’ depressing night time continued in the course of the second interval, Ridle Baku and 19-year-old Ouedraogo ending from contained in the field because the four-time World Cup winners ended a patchy marketing campaign at a canter.
Germany workforce vs Slovakia
Germany suffered a significant blow on the eve of their recreation towards Luxembourg when Kimmich suffered an ankle points in coaching, however the captain was again after remaining an unused substitute in Gasperich.
Centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck additionally returned from damage as a starter this time.
Germany beginning XI: Oliver Baumann, Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck, David Raum, Leroy Sane, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Florian Wirtz, Nick Woltemade
Germany substitutes: Malick Thiaw, Waldemar Anton, Jamie Leweling, Assan Ouedraogo, Jonathan Burkardt, Alexander Nubel, Felix Nmecha, Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade, Nathaniel Brown, Finn Dahmen, Ridle Baku
Slovakia workforce vs Germany
Midfielders Mario Sauer and Ondrej Duda and ahead Adrian Kapralik have been out for Slovakia, however David Hancko featured for a second consecutive recreation following the defender’s return from damage.
Hancko and David Strelec scored when Slovakia beat Germany 2-0 at residence on September 4.
Lubomir Satka was on the bench, having been a doubt with a minor damage challenge.
Slovakia beginning XI: Martin Dubravka, Norbert Gyomber, Milan Skriniar, Adam Obert, Matus Bero, Stanislav Lobotka, Ondrej Duda, David Hancko, David Duris, David Strelec, Leo Sauer
Slovakia substitutes: Peter Pekarik, Denis Vavro, Lubomir Satka, Robert Bozenik, Laszlo Benes, Tomas Bobcek, Marek Rodak, Patrik Hrosovsky, Lukas Haraslin, Ivan Schranz, Tomas Rigo, Dominik Takac
September 4: Slovakia 2-0 Germany
September 7: Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland
October 10: Germany 4-0 Luxembourg
October 13: Northern Ireland 0-1 Germany
November 14: Luxembourg 0-2 Germany
November 17: Germany 6-0 Slovakia
2026 World Cup playoffs dates
The highest workforce from every of the 12 European Qualifier teams proceeds robotically to the finals, which might be expanded to 48 groups.
The 12 runners-up in every group will be a part of 4 Nations League groups within the one-legged play-off ties, which might be drawn from pots based mostly on groups’ data in the course of the marketing campaign.
The semi-finals will happen on March 26, adopted by the finals on March 31 2026.
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup playoffs?
The play-off draw will happen on Thursday, November 20 at 12:00 GMT (07:00 ET / 04:00 PT).
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup finals?
The draw for the World Cup finals will happen on December 5 2025 on the Kennedy Heart in Washington DC, with the ceremony beginning at 17:00 GMT (12:00 ET/ 09:00 PT).
The match runs from June 11 till July 19 2026.
