Germany on brink of World Cup qualification after 2-0 win over Luxembourg
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Germany's Nick Woltemade celebrates scoring their second goal with Leroy Sane and Florian Wirtz.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LUXEMBOURG – Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann knows his team have much to work on, as Nick Woltemade scored a brace to send his sluggish side past Luxembourg 2-0 on Nov 14 and within touching distance of direct World Cup qualification.
They struggled against their underdog hosts – ranked 97th in the world – but victory kept them on track to qualify for the 2026 tournament in North America.
“The three points are the most important thing today,” Nagelsmann said.
“In the end, football is a results sport. But in the first half, we didn’t get off to a good start. It took us a long time to get into our rhythm. Luxembourg had chances, and actually should’ve taken the lead.
“In the second half, we were much better, had more control, scored two goals and deservedly won the game. We take the three points.”
The four-time World Cup winners are level on points in Group A with second-placed Slovakia, who beat Northern Ireland 1-0 at home, but have a better goal difference with one match left to play.
The top two face off in Leipzig on Nov 17 with Germany guaranteed direct qualification if they avoid defeat.
Before the Nov 14 match, Nagelsmann backed Woltemade to make a difference in Luxembourg, and the big Newcastle United striker did exactly that.
After scoring the only goal in a win over Northern Ireland in October – his first in international football – the 1.98m Woltemade delivered again for a Germany side missing forwards Kai Havertz, Jamal Musiala, Niclas Fullkrug, Tim Kleindienst and Karim Adeyemi.
“We weren’t good in the first half. We moved the ball around too much and into situations where we put ourselves under pressure,” Woltemade told Germany’s RTL network after the match.
“We did better in the second half. I know it wasn’t a pretty game, but we gave our all, pushed hard and got the three points.”
Meanwhile, a Germany return failed to spark misfiring Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz into form.
He had a shot deflected over the bar in the opening half and struggled to make an impact on the game.
Luxembourg coach Jeff Strasser lamented his side’s “failure to reward ourselves” after an impressive opening period, saying: “We were punished mercilessly. A team like Germany, with that quality, takes advantage of mistakes like that.”
Without a point from their opening four group-stage fixtures, Luxembourg had the better chances in the first half while injury-hit Germany lacked fluency.
A visibly frustrated Nagelsmann stormed down the tunnel at half-time and whatever he said elicited a reaction early in the second half, with Woltemade making the breakthrough four minutes after the break.
Leroy Sane, playing his first match for Germany since moving to Galatasaray in the summer, cut a pinpoint cross into Woltemade’s path from the right, and the 23-year-old forward tapped home.
Sane was key in Woltemade’s second with 69 minutes gone, feeding the ball to Ridle Baku, who slid in Woltemade to scoop home.
Describing his return as an “honour”, the 29-year-old told RTL: “I’m happy I was able to get an assist and repay Julian’s trust to some extent.” AFP
