Germany and Netherlands scored a flurry of goals as they completed FIFA World Cup qualification on the final match day.
Published on 18 November 2025
Four-time World Cup champions Germany finally booked their place in the 2026 edition by thrashing Slovakia 6-0 on Monday.
This will be Germany’s 21st appearance at the World Cup, having missed only two editions, the first being the 1930 World Cup in which it did not enter and the 1950 tournament in which it was not allowed to enter.
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European rivals the Netherlands also qualified to complete an unbeaten run through group play with a 4-0 win over Lithuania on Monday.
The road was more dramatic for Germany, which began its play in Group A with a loss to Slovakia. They managed to recover from their third defeat so far in World Cup qualifying and register five consecutive wins. Germany needed only a draw on Monday to book a place at the 2026 World Cup, but they put the game out of reach by scoring four goals in the first half.
Germany’s most recent World Cup title came in 2014, but they have failed to progress beyond the group stage in the last two editions. The Netherlands are still in search of the country’s first World Cup trophy, having finished runner-up three times.
With Thursday’s draw, Slovakia and Poland are now through to the playoffs.
