Germany stormed into next year’s World Cup with a dominant 6-0 victory over Slovakia, securing top spot in their group. Four first-half goals — from Nick Woltemade, Serge Gnabry, and a Leroy Sané double — overwhelmed Slovakia, who now head to the playoffs. Ridle Baku and 19-year-old debutant Assan Ouédraogo added late goals as Germany capped a flawless performance.
The Netherlands also qualified comfortably, cruising past Lithuania 4-0 in Amsterdam. Tijjani Reijnders opened the scoring before Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen struck in a rapid second-half burst to seal top spot in Group G.
Poland kept their hopes alive with a dramatic 3-2 away win over Malta, securing a playoff spot thanks to Piotr Zielinski’s late winner. Robert Lewandowski and Pawel Wszolek had earlier put Poland ahead twice.
Northern Ireland ended their campaign with a flat 1-0 win over Luxembourg, courtesy of Jamie Donley’s first international goal from the penalty spot. Though already out of contention for automatic qualification, Northern Ireland still have a playoff to come via the Nations League.
Czech Republic, already assured of a playoff place, demolished Gibraltar 6-0, scoring five times in the first half through David Doudera, Tomas Chory, Vladimir Coufal, Adam Karabec and Tomas Soucek. Robin Hranac added a sixth shortly after halftime.
Croatia secured first place in their group with a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Montenegro, overturning a two-goal deficit to finish ahead of the Czechs.
