In Joshua Kimmich’s first World Cup qualifier as captain, Germany dropped the ball with a shocking 2-0 loss to Slovakia. After getting knocked out of the group stage in 2018 and 2022, the overreactions were hot and heavy. Some believed Germany’s reign as an international soccer power were over.
Cooler heads prevailed and Kimmich led Germany to a 3-1 victory over Northern Ireland three days. Germany went on to win the group and automatically qualify for the 2026 tournament. Nine months later, Germany dismantled
Curaçao with a 7-1 result in the opening match.
“The atmosphere is always positive after a win, but I found it to be relatively homogenous even before that,” said Kimmich (via @iMiaSanMia). “It’s not all sunshine and rainbows every day, but we get along well. We all have a common goal, and that gives us positive energy. At the moment, it’s working very well; we’ve won 10 games in a row now and are on the right track.”
The 10-game winning streak includes five clean sheets and a 35-7 goal advantage over the opponents. Germany holds the seventh-best odds (+1300) to win the World Cup, behind France, Spain, England, Portugal, Argentina, and Brazil. Germany would likely have to beat three of those teams in a row to win it all and match Brazil’s record of five World Cup trophies.
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