Germany makes history but in a bad way

At the European Championship in Germany, Slovakia came within seconds of reaching the quarterfinals, but Jude Bellingham scored in the dying moments to make it 1–1, and then, in the first minute of extra time, Harry Kane finished off the shaken opponent and sent England through. Afterwards, Francesco Calzona’s side also failed to reach League B in the Nations League, losing in the playoffs to Slovenia. But tonight, at the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, against Germany – the toughest rival in the group – Slovakia staked a serious claim for a World Cup ticket with a 2–0 victory.

 And not only because they took three points off the favorites, but also because of the way Slovakia played the match. Julian Nagelsmann had announced that he didn’t just want his players to secure first place and direct qualification for the tournament in the USA, Mexico, and Canada next summer – he expected Germany to dominate throughout the qualifiers. Yet, although ball possession in Bratislava was more than twice in favor of the visitors, Slovakia could have celebrated even more convincingly. They hit the post, and had several other excellent chances, which perhaps better finishers than Feyenoord’s Leo Sauer or Slovan’s David Strelec might have converted. But what they did manage, with the help of Atletico Madrid’s new left-back David Hancko, was enough to hand Germany a third consecutive defeat.

The previous two setbacks for Die Mannschaft came in the Nations League finals, where they lost to Portugal in the semifinals (1–2) and to France in the third-place playoff (0–2). This defeat in Bratislava will go down in the history of the German national team as their first ever in the opening match of World Cup qualifying. Until now, they had 41 wins and 10 draws.

Slovakia’s game was based on solid defending and quick transitions. That’s how they scored both goals, while allowing their opponent only one “clear-cut” chance. It fell to Leon Goretzka early in the second half, but Martin Dubravka saved his shot from just five or six meters out. And that was all from a very unconvincing, we could even say poor, German side tonight. At the other end, Germany’s defense of Collins, Rudiger, Tah, Mittelstadt, with Baumann in goal and Kimmich and Stiller meant to provide support from midfield, struggled badly. Rudiger in particular had problems, at times looking like the famous fawn Bambi on ice in the cartoon. For the first goal, he was thoroughly outplayed by Strelec; for the second, he failed to close down the Bratislava Slovan striker after a neat move with Hancko. In between, he misjudged the flight of the ball before Sauer sent him to the ground.

Nothing was working for Germany in attack either. The attacking quartet from the start consisted of Gnabry, Goretzka, Wirtz, and Woltemade as the furthest forward. Interestingly, despite his team’s struggles, Nagelsmann made only three substitutions. At the start of the second half, b replaced debutant Collins; in the 60th minute, Amiri came on for Stiller; and in the 66th, Adeyemi replaced Gnabry. In three days, against Northern Ireland in Cologne, the German coach will have to find better solutions. Especially since the Irish arrive full of confidence after taking three points in Luxembourg, where they won 3–1.

2026 FIFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS - EUROPE

Thursday

Kazakhstan - Wales 0-1 (0-1)

/Moore 24/

Georgia - Turkey 2-3 (0-2)

/Davitashvili 63, Kvaratskhelia 90+8 - Muldur 3, Akturkoglu 41, 52/

Lithuania - Malta 1-1 (0-0)

/Gineitis 90+6 pen - Satariano 83/

Luxembourg - Northern Ireland 1-3 (1-1)

/Dardari 30 - Reid 7, Charles 46, Devenny 69/

Slovakia - Germany 2-0 (1-0)

/Hancko 42, Strelec 55/

Bulgaria - Spain 0-3 (0-3)

/Oyarzabal 5, Cucurella 30, Merino 38/

Netherlands - Poland 1-1 (1-0)

/Dumfries 28 - Cash 80/

Liechtenstein - Belgium 0-6 (0-1)

/De Cuyper 29, Tielemans 46, Theate 60, 70 pen, De Bruyne 62, Fofana 90+1/

Friday

21.45: (1.55) Denmark (4.20) Scotland (7.00)

21.45: (16.0) Faroe I. (8.50) Croatia (1.18)

21.45: (1.20) Greece (6.50) Belarus (16.0)

21.45: (1.45) Iceland (4.40) Azerbaijan (7.50)

21.45: (1.05) Italy (14.0) Estonia (35.0)

21.45: (6.75) Moldova (4.00) Israel (1.53)

21.45: (5.40) Montenegro (3.70) Czech R. (1.75)

21.45: (3.50) Slovenia (3.35) Sweden (2.25)

21.45: (1.37) Switzerland (4.90) Kosovo (8.50)

21.45: (8.00) Ukraine (4.60) France (1.40)