Germany and Netherlands Book World Cup Spots with Dominant Wins
Germany secured their place at next year’s World Cup by crushing Slovakia 6-0 in their final qualifier,pummelling them into submission with four goals in the first half and sending their opponents into a playoff in March.
The four-time world champions, who went out in the first round of the last two editions of the World Cup, finished top of their group, three points clear of Slovakia.
An unmarked Nick Woltemade headed Germany into the lead in the 18th minute with his fourth goal in his last three international matches. Serge Gnabry latched on to a perfect Leon Goretzka pass to make it 2-0.
Florian Wirtz put leroy Sané through to curl his shot past Martin Dubravka and put the game to bed, before Wirtz delivered another assist for the winger to score his second goal of the evening five minutes later.Slovakia, who had beaten Germany in Bratislava in September, had no answer to the hosts’ relentless pressure.
“We played a really good game tonight,” said Woltemade. “From the first to the last second we did not allow anything at the back and were creative. I hope it was fun to watch us tonight. It is great to play for Germany. We have now qualified for the World Cup.”
The pace dropped after the break but the substitutes Ridle Baku and Assan Ouédraogo added a goal apiece, the latter becoming the youngest player to score for Germany on his debut aged 19.
The Netherlands secured their berth at the finals with an easy 4-0 home victory against Lithuania, finishing top of Group G. The margin could have been even bigger, such was the Dutch dominance, but the result ensured they completed the campaign three points clear of second-placed Poland.
Northern Ireland Secure Playoff Spot Despite lackluster Win Over Luxembourg
Jamie Donley’s first international goal, a 44th-minute penalty, secured a 1-0 victory for Northern Ireland against Luxembourg at Windsor Park, concluding their Euro 2024 qualifying Group A campaign. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/nov/20/northern-ireland-beat-luxembourg-jamie-donley-euro-2024-qualifiers While the win was ultimately a muted affair, Northern Ireland had already secured a playoff place in March thanks to their performance in the UEFA Nations League.
The match lacked intensity as Northern Ireland’s hopes of finishing second in the group were dashed by a late defeat to Slovakia on Friday. Donley’s penalty, awarded after Christopher Martins fouled Ciaron Brown, proved to be the decisive moment in a game lacking clear-cut chances.
Elsewhere in Group A, the Czech Republic emphatically defeated Gibraltar 6-0. https://www.uefa.com/european-qualifiers/news/0287-1979a599999f-1979a599999f-1000–czech-republic-thrash-gibraltar-croatia-come-from-behind-to-beat-montenegro/ David Doudera opened the scoring in the 5th minute, followed by goals from Tomas Chory, Vladimir Coufal, Adam Karabec, and captain Tomas Soucek, all before halftime. Robin Hranac added another goal shortly after the restart to complete the rout.
The Czech Republic finished second in the group with 16 points, behind Croatia, who demonstrated resilience by overcoming a two-goal deficit to defeat Montenegro 3-2.