So much for Germany being at risk of missing the World Cup.A 6-0 thrashing of Slovakia on Monday completed Germany’s recovery from a shocking start to group play as the four-time champion maintained its proud record of always qualifying for the World Cup.The Germans will be competing on soccer’s biggest stage for the 21st time in 23 editions. They didn’t enter the inaugural 1930 World Cup and were not allowed to enter the 1950 edition.The Netherlands — a long-standing rival of Germany — also won its group to reach next year’s tournament being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A 4-0 win over Lithuania saw the Dutch qualify with an unbeaten record, finishing ahead of Poland.Slovakia and Poland will be in the playoffs, the draw for which takes place on Thursday.Germany and the Netherlands joined England, France, Portugal, Croatia and Norway as the European teams to have qualified for the 2026 World Cup.The remaining five automatic spots will be booked on Tuesday when group play is wrapped up.It was Slovakia which handed Germany a surprising 2-0 loss in the first round of matches in Group A. That was only the Germans’ third ever defeat in World Cup qualifying but they have responded with five straight wins, culminating in the heavy beating of Slovakia in Leipzig where the pressure was firmly on Julian Nagelsmann’s team.Four of the goals came in the first half; Leroy Sane scored twice after strikes by Nick Woltemade and Serge Gnabry.The second-half goals …
