Germany stormed into next year’s World Cup with a crushing 6-0 win over Slovakia, sealing top spot in their group and sending Slovakia into the March playoffs. The four-time world champions scored four times in a dominant first half: Nick Woltemade opened the scoring, Serge Gnabry added a second, and Leroy Sané struck twice – both assisted by Florian Wirtz.
Second-half goals from Ridle Baku and debutant Assan Ouédraogo, who became Germany’s youngest-ever scorer at 19, capped off the rout. Germany finished three points clear at the top of the group.
The Netherlands also secured qualification, topping Group G after a comfortable 4-0 victory over Lithuania. Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring before Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen added quick-fire goals after the break.
Poland kept their hopes alive with a 3-2 win over Malta, earning a playoff place thanks to a late Piotr Zielinski strike. Robert Lewandowski and Pawel Wszolek also scored for the visitors.
Northern Ireland ended their campaign with a 1-0 win over Luxembourg thanks to Jamie Donley’s first international goal, though their playoff hopes were already secured via last year’s Nations League performance.
Elsewhere, the Czech Republic – already assured of a playoff spot – thrashed Gibraltar 6-0, while group winners Croatia came from 2-0 down to beat Montenegro 3-2.
