That alone puts Germany at risk of missing out on the World Cup.
Germany bounced back from a shock start in the group stage with a 6-0 win over Slovakia on Monday, maintaining the four-time champions’ proud record of always qualifying for the World Cup.
“Despite a lot of pressure, our team played a great game,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.
The Germans will be competing on soccer’s biggest stage for the 21st time out of 23 tournaments. They did not play in the first World Cup in 1930 and missed the 1950 tournament.
Germany’s long-time rival, the Netherlands, also advanced through its group and advanced to next year’s tournament, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. With a 4-0 win over Lithuania, the Netherlands qualified with an unbeaten record and finished ahead of Poland.
Slovakia and Poland will advance to the play-offs, with the draw to be held on Thursday.
Germany and the Netherlands are the latest European teams to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, joining England, France, Portugal, Croatia and Norway.
The remaining five automatic spots will be reserved on Tuesday when group play ends.
deal with pressure
Slovakia suffered a shocking 2-0 defeat to Germany in the first round of Group A. This was only Germany’s third ever defeat in World Cup qualifying, but they fought back with five consecutive wins, culminating in a crushing defeat of Slovakia in Leipzig that put Nagelsmann’s side firmly under pressure.
Four of the goals came in the first half. Leroy Sane scored twice with strikes from Nick Waltemade (his fourth in the last three qualifying matches) and Serge Gnabry.
The second-half goals came from two Leipzig players, substitute Riddle Baku and 19-year-old midfielder Assan Ouedraogo, who was making his debut.
Germany entered the game as long as there was a draw, and finished with a three-point lead over Slovakia.
“I think we’re back on track,” Nagelsmann said. “Without the pressure of playing in the playoffs, I can prepare with a free and open mind in March.”
No team has reached more World Cup finals than Germany. They were the first West German to win the championship in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014, and were runners-up in 1966, 1982, 1986 and 2014.
However, Germany lost in the group stage in the past two World Cups, damaging its status as a world power.
In the other game in the group, Luxembourg lost to Northern Ireland 0-1, leaving them with zero points.
Dutch defeat
The Netherlands will have another chance to win that elusive first World Cup trophy, four years after being eliminated from the 2022 tournament with a dramatic penalty shootout loss to Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the quarter-finals.
A draw with Lithuania on Monday would have been enough for the Netherlands, who started the game three points behind Poland, but ended up spilling goals from Tijani Lijnders in the 16th in Amsterdam.
Kodi Gakpo converted a penalty in the 58th minute to make it 2-0, with Xavi Simmons and Donyell Malen scoring further goals with powerful shots at the end of a run that started in their own half.
The Netherlands have finished as runners-up in the World Cup three times: in 1974, 1978 and 2010.
Poland ended the group stage with a 3-2 win against Malta, with Piotr Zielinski scoring the winning goal in the 85th minute after losing the lead twice.
Robert Lewandowski scored the first goal for Poland. Poland is already certain of at least second place and will play in the semi-finals at home in the playoffs in March.
Croatia undefeated
Croatia, who had already qualified, defeated Montenegro 3-2 and finished undefeated in Group L.
The Czech Republic, who are guaranteed second place, defeated Gibraltar 6-0.
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
