After an underwhelming performance against Luxembourg, Germany had everything to prove in their decisive FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Slovakia — and prove it they did. The Germans got off to a quick
start, scoring in the 18th minute and practically put the game to bed after scoring their fourth goal of the evening just before half time. However, the game was not over. Germany had time for two more goals, one of which a debut goal for RB Leipzig’s Assan Ouédraogo.
After widespread criticism, especially in the goal scoring department, Julian Nagelsmann’s side finally showed the bite that has been missing from the bark, and no one was happier with the team performance than the 38-year-old manager himself.
“Every player showed a very good performance today,” exclaimed Nagelsmann (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “We found our game and played convincing football. Everyone did very well. I can’t complain. I’m proud of the team — they had to fight after the bad start with the defeat in Slovakia, they pushed themselves and showed a good team spirit.”
While Slovakia is a way off one of the best teams in Europe, one has to remember this is a side that downed the Germans 2-0 roughly two months ago. This victory by no means indicates that Germany are suddenly ready to challenge for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but what it does represent is progress, something the four time world champions have been lacking.
Fans will be hoping Nagelsmann has cracked the code after getting the best out of the entire squad, new call-ups included. Germany will be hoping to carry their momentum into their next round of international fixtures but will have to wait a number of months until that happens. In the meantime, fans can be happy with Germany’s ticket to next years FIFA World Cup.
If you are looking for more Bayern Munich and German national team coverage, check out the latest episodes of Bavarian Podcast Works, which you can get on Acast, Spotify, Apple, or any leading podcast distributor…
