Germany blasts its way into World Cup

So much for Germany being at risk of missing the World Cup.

A 6-0 thrashing of Slovakia on Monday completed Germany's recovery from its shocking start to group play, as the four-time champion maintained its proud record of always qualifying for the World Cup.

"A brilliant game from our team, with a lot of pressure," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said.

The Germans will be competing on soccer's biggest stage for the 21st time in 23 editions. They didn't enter the inaugural 1930 World Cup and were not allowed to enter the 1950 edition.

The Netherlands — a long-standing rival of Germany — also won its group to reach next year's tournament, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A 4-0 win over Lithuania saw the Dutch qualify with an unbeaten record, finishing ahead of Poland.

Slovakia and Poland will be in the playoffs, the draw for which takes place on Thursday.

Germany and the Netherlands joined England, France, Portugal, Croatia and Norway as the European teams to have already punched their tickets for the 2026 World Cup.

The remaining five automatic spots will be booked on Tuesday when group play is wrapped up.

It was Slovakia that handed Germany a surprising 2-0 loss in the first round of matches in Group A.That was only the Germans' third ever defeat in World Cup qualifying, but they responded with five straight wins, culminating in the drubbing of Slovakia in Leipzig, where the pressure was firmly on Nagelsmann's team.

Four of the goals came in the first half; Leroy Sane scored twice after strikes by Nick Woltemade — his fourth in the last three qualifying games — and Serge Gnabry.

"We're relieved. It's a great moment," Woltemade told Germany's ZDF. "I'm playing, I'm scoring goals and, hopefully, I'm playing at the World Cup."

"Tonight we showed the quality we have in this team. It was a pleasure."

Nagelsmann praised his team's attitude. "We showed incredible team spirit and pushed ourselves on the pitch from the very beginning," he said.

The second-half goals came from two Leipzig players — substitute Ridle Baku and Assan Ouedraogo, a 19-year-old midfielder making his debut.

Germany entered the game needing only a draw, and finished three points ahead of Slovakia.

"I think we're back on the road," Nagelsmann said. "We can prepare with a free and open mind in March, because we don't have the pressure of playing in the playoffs."

No team has reached the World Cup final more times than Germany. It was the winner in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014 — the first three as West Germany — and was runner-up in 1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002.

Germany has been eliminated in the group stage in the last two World Cups, however, damaging its status as a global heavyweight.

In the group's other game, Luxembourg lost to Northern Ireland 1-0 and finished on zero points.

'Now the real work begins'

The Netherlands will get another chance to win that elusive first World Cup trophy, four years after exiting the 2022 tournament in a dramatic penalty shoot-out loss to Lionel Messi's Argentina in the quarterfinals.

A draw with Lithuania on Monday also would have been enough for the Dutch, who started the game three points clear of Poland, but they wound up pouring in the goals in Amsterdam — starting with Tijjani Reijnders in the 16th minute.

Cody Gakpo made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 58th and there were more goals from Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen, who scored off a powerful effort at the end of a solo run that began inside his own half.

"I think there were some good things in our performance," said playmaker Frenkie de Jong.

"Maybe we faded a bit, but the period after halftime was great for the crowd. Of course, you want to score as many as possible, and 4-0 is ultimately fine.

"Now the real work begins. We're going to improve as much as possible and arrive at the World Cup in the best possible shape," said the midfielder.

Next year's finals in North America will mark the 12th time the Dutch have participated in the World Cup. They were losing finalists at the 1974, 1978 and 2010 tournaments.

Qualified nations

Host nations:

Canada, Mexico, United States

Africa:

Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia:

Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan

Europe:

Croatia, England, France, Norway, Portugal, Germany, Netherlands

Oceania:

New Zealand

South America:

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

Agencies