Leroy Sane struck twice and Assan Ouedraogo swept in less than two minutes after coming on for his debut as Germany hammered Slovakia to seal direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup and condemn their opponents to the play-offs.
Nick Woltemade headed in returning captain Joshua Kimmich’s cross for his fourth goal in three international matches before Gnabry slotted in from Leon Goretzka’s pass and Sane profited twice from Florian Wirtz assists before the break.
Slovakia needed to win to overtake Germany in the group decider but the visitors’ miserable night continued during the second half, Ridle Baku and 19-year-old Ouedraogo finishing from inside the box as the four-time World Cup winners ended a patchy campaign at a canter.
Germany team vs Slovakia
Germany suffered a major blow on the eve of their game against Luxembourg when Kimmich suffered an ankle issues in training, but the captain was back after remaining an unused substitute in Gasperich.
Centre-back Nico Schlotterbeck also returned from injury as a starter this time.
Germany starting XI: Oliver Baumann, Joshua Kimmich, Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck, David Raum, Leroy Sane, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Serge Gnabry, Leon Goretzka, Florian Wirtz, Nick Woltemade
Germany substitutes: Malick Thiaw, Waldemar Anton, Jamie Leweling, Assan Ouedraogo, Jonathan Burkardt, Alexander Nubel, Felix Nmecha, Karim Adeyemi, Kevin Schade, Nathaniel Brown, Finn Dahmen, Ridle Baku
Slovakia lineup vs Germany
Midfielders Mario Sauer and Ondrej Duda and forward Adrian Kapralik were out for Slovakia, but David Hancko featured for a second consecutive game following the defender’s return from injury.
Hancko and David Strelec scored when Slovakia beat Germany 2-0 at home on September 4.
Lubomir Satka was on the bench, having been a doubt with a minor injury issue.
Slovakia starting XI: Martin Dubravka, Norbert Gyomber, Milan Skriniar, Adam Obert, Matus Bero, Stanislav Lobotka, Ondrej Duda, David Hancko, David Duris, David Strelec, Leo Sauer
Slovakia substitutes: Peter Pekarik, Denis Vavro, Lubomir Satka, Robert Bozenik, Laszlo Benes, Tomas Bobcek, Marek Rodak, Patrik Hrosovsky, Lukas Haraslin, Ivan Schranz, Tomas Rigo, Dominik Takac
Germany squad vs Slovakia
Goalkeepers: Noah Atubolu (Freiburg), Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Finn Dahmen (Augsburg), Alexander Nuebel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck (both Dortmund), Ridle Baku (Leipzig), Nathaniel Brown (Frankfurt), David Raum (Leipzig), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Nadiem Amiri (Mainz), Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlovic (all Bayern), Felix Nmecha (Dortmund)
Forwards: Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund), Jonathan Burkardt (Frankfurt), Said El Mala (Koln), Serge Gnabry (Bayern), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Kevin Schade (Brentford), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
September 4: Slovakia 2-0 Germany
September 7: Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland
October 10: Germany 4-0 Luxembourg
October 13: Northern Ireland 0-1 Germany
November 14: Luxembourg 0-2 Germany
November 17: Germany 6-0 Slovakia
2026 World Cup playoffs dates
The top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the one-legged play-off ties, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign.
The semi-finals will take place on March 26, followed by the finals on March 31 2026.
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup playoffs?
The play-off draw will take place on Thursday, November 20 at 12:00 GMT (07:00 ET / 04:00 PT).
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup finals?
The draw for the World Cup finals will take place on December 5 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with the ceremony starting at 17:00 GMT (12:00 ET/ 09:00 PT).
The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.
