Germany booked their place at next year’s World Cup in emphatic style, thrashing Slovakia 6-0 in their final qualifier. Four first-half goals – from Nick Woltemade, Serge Gnabry and a Leroy Sané brace – overwhelmed Slovakia, who now head to the playoffs. Ridle Baku and 19-year-old debutant Assan Ouédraogo added late goals as Germany topped their group by three points.
The Netherlands also qualified comfortably, beating Lithuania 4-0 in Amsterdam to finish top of Group G. Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring before Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen netted in a quick-fire second-half burst. Poland secured a playoff spot with a 3-2 win over Malta, sealed by Piotr Zielinski’s late goal.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland ended their Group A campaign with a 1-0 win over Luxembourg thanks to Jamie Donley’s first international goal from the penalty spot. Already playoff-bound Czech Republic hammered Gibraltar 6-0, scoring five in the first half, while group winners Croatia staged a dramatic comeback, overturning a 2-0 deficit to beat Montenegro 3-2.
