Germany booked their place at next year’s World Cup in emphatic style, demolishing Slovakia 6-0 in their final qualifier. Four first-half goals overwhelmed the visitors, who now drop into the March playoffs. Nick Woltemade opened the scoring with his fourth goal in three games, followed by strikes from Serge Gnabry and two from Leroy Sané, both assisted by Florian Wirtz. Ridle Baku and 19-year-old debutant Assan Ouédraogo added late goals to complete the rout.
The Netherlands also secured qualification, cruising to a 4-0 home win over Lithuania to top Group G. Tijjani Reijnders gave them a halftime lead before Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen added quickfire goals after the break. Poland sealed a playoff place with a 3-2 victory away to Malta, with Piotr Zielinski scoring the late winner.
Northern Ireland closed their campaign with a flat 1-0 win over Luxembourg thanks to Jamie Donley’s penalty, though their playoff hopes were already secured through the Nations League.
The Czech Republic, already assured of a playoff berth, crushed Gibraltar 6-0, scoring five before halftime, while Croatia came from two goals down to defeat Montenegro 3-2 and finish top of the group.
