Germany stormed into next year’s World Cup with a ruthless 6-0 demolition of Slovakia, sealing top spot in their group and sending their opponents into the playoffs. Four first-half goals – from Nick Woltemade, Serge Gnabry and a Leroy Sané brace – ended the contest early, with Slovakia unable to cope with Germany’s intensity. Ridle Baku and debutant Assan Ouédraogo added late goals, the latter becoming Germany’s youngest scorer at 19.
The Netherlands also booked their place at the finals with a dominant 4-0 win over Lithuania. Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring before second-half goals from Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen sealed Group G.
Poland earned a playoff spot with a dramatic 3-2 win in Malta thanks to Piotr Zielinski’s late strike, while Northern Ireland ended their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Luxembourg from Jamie Donley’s penalty, though their hopes of finishing second had ended earlier.
Czech Republic, already assured of a playoff, swept aside Gibraltar 6-0 with five first-half goals, while Croatia came from two down to beat Montenegro 3-2 and finish top of their group.
