Germany stormed into next year’s World Cup with a dominant 6-0 victory over Slovakia, finishing top of their group and sending Slovakia into the playoffs. Nick Woltemade opened the scoring before Serge Gnabry, Leroy Sané (twice), Ridle Baku and debutant Assan Ouédraogo completed the rout. The result capped an impressive qualifying run for Germany after early exits at the last two World Cups.
The Netherlands also booked their ticket with a comfortable 4-0 win over Lithuania. Tijjani Reijnders scored before Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen added second-half goals to secure top spot in Group G, three points ahead of Poland.
Poland, meanwhile, earned a playoff place after a dramatic 3-2 win in Malta. Robert Lewandowski and Pawel Wszolek both scored, with Piotr Zielinski netting a late winner.
Northern Ireland ended their campaign with a 1-0 home win over Luxembourg thanks to Jamie Donley’s first international goal, though their playoff place was already confirmed via the Nations League.
Elsewhere, Czech Republic cruised past Gibraltar 6-0, having already secured second place. Croatia came from two goals down to beat Montenegro 3-2, finishing ahead of the Czechs at the top of their group.
