LONDON: Germany lost an away World Cup qualifying game for the first time in a 2-0 upset against Slovakia on Thursday which threw their campaign to reach the 2026 tournament into immediate jeopardy.
David Hancko and David Strelec each exploited mistakes in Germany’s defense to give Slovakia — who last qualified for the World Cup in 2010 — a surprise lead. Germany couldn’t find a way through the Slovakian defense to get back into the game.
It was a blow to coach Julian Nagelsmann and his new-look lineup, including Newcastle’s new striker Nick Woltemade in his third Germany game and 21-year-old Nnamdi Collins making his debut at right back.
Nagelsmann was scathing about his team, who he said lacked “emotionality” on the field and the will to win against motivated underdog opposition. He even questioned whether he should pick less skilled but more dedicated players instead.
“Maybe we really do need to rely less on quality and instead on players who just give everything, because that would have led to better results today than if the best players played,” he told broadcaster ARD.
Germany now need to win all of their remaining five games to avoid the playoffs, Nagelsmann added.
Historic records fall
Germany, including West Germany’s record during the Cold War, has played at every World Cup since 1954. Until Thursday it had only ever lost three World Cup qualifiers, all at home.
The loss in Slovakia was also only the second time Germany lost a World Cup qualifier by more than one goal. The other was a 5-1 home loss to England in 2001.
Germany seemed so confident of qualifying from a straightforward group with Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg that they already booked a friendly on the assumption they win the group.
Germany on Thursday announced a friendly with Ivory Coast for March 2026 “in the event of successful direct World Cup qualification.” The date clashes with the playoffs for second-place teams.
It was Germany’s opening game in Group A, which also saw Northern Ireland beat Luxembourg 3-1 on Thursday.
Spain cruise to victory
European champion Spain took an early lead with Mikel Oyarzabal’s fifth-minute goal and eased to a 3-0 win over Bulgaria in both teams’ opening qualifying game. Marc Cucurella and Mikel Merino scored to extend Spain’s lead.
Ugurcan Cakir’s leaping save in the 11th minute of added time meant Turkiye held on to beat Georgia 3-2 in their opening qualifier despite having forward Baris Alper Yilmaz sent off just four minutes after he’d come on from the bench.
Dutch team’s perfect start spoiled
Matty Cash scored to salvage a 1-1 draw for Poland who ended the Netherlands’ perfect start to qualifying.
Denzel Dumfries’ header at a corner had put the Netherlands on course for a third win from three games without conceding a goal, but Cash leveled the score for Poland with a fierce shot from the edge of the penalty area in the 80th minute.
Not all teams have started their World Cup qualifying at the same time because of Nations League commitments earlier this year.
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski returned to action as Poland’s captain after briefly leaving the national team during a dispute with ex-coach Michal Probierz in June.
Lithuania and Malta drew 1-1 in Thursday’s other Group G game.
Belgium’s 6-0 win
Belgium started slowly against tiny Liechtenstein and only led 1-0 at halftime but turned it into a 6-0 rout including two goals from Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans and one from Napoli’s Kevin de Bruyne.
Wales went top of Group J with a 1-0 win over Kazakhstan but have played two games more than third-place Belgium. Wales nearly dropped points when Kazakhstan’s Serikzhan Muzhikov hit a free kick against the crossbar with the last act of the game.
