Germany booked their place at next year’s World Cup with a crushing 6-0 win over Slovakia, topping their group and sending Slovakia into the March playoffs. Four first-half goals – from Nick Woltemade, Serge Gnabry, and a Leroy Sané brace – overwhelmed the visitors, who had beaten Germany earlier in the campaign. Ridle Baku and debutant Assan Ouédraogo added goals after the break, the latter becoming Germany’s youngest-ever scorer at 19.
The Netherlands also qualified comfortably, beating Lithuania 4-0 in Amsterdam to finish first in Group G. Tijjani Reijnders struck before half-time, with Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons, and Donyell Malen adding quick goals in the second half.
Poland secured a playoff place after a dramatic 3-2 win in Malta, sealed by Piotr Zieliński’s late goal. Robert Lewandowski and Pawel Wszolek also scored for the visitors.
Northern Ireland ended their campaign with a 1-0 home win over Luxembourg thanks to Jamie Donley’s first international goal, a penalty just before the break. The match had no impact on qualification, but Northern Ireland have a playoff in March thanks to last year’s Nations League results.
Czech Republic, already assured of a playoff berth, hammered Gibraltar 6-0 with five goals in the first half, finishing behind group winners Croatia, who staged a comeback from 2-0 down to beat Montenegro 3-2.
