Nick Woltemade has said Germany “conceded many dangerous situations” as Luxembourg threatened to take a shock first-half lead against the four-time World Cup winners and damage their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 finals.
St Pauli winger Danel Sinani went close twice either side of Aiman Dardari – who also plays in the Bundesliga for Augsburg – shooting just wide during the early stages, with Germany perhaps fortunate to reach the interval goalless.
“We knew Luxembourg can play football,” said Newcastle striker Woltemade (via Bayern & Germany), who scored both goals in Die Mannschaft’s 2-0 win.
“Everyone admitted at half-time that the first half was not good. We were then significantly better, with more control and more chances.”
Luxembourg vs Germany: Woltemade satisfied
Woltemade struck from Leroy Sane’s cross and Ridle Baku’s pass to ensure Germany will reach the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico automatically if they avoid defeat at home to Slovakia on Monday.
“The second half was better,” Woltemade said, criticising “a lot of back and forth” during the first period.
“We were more precise and got the goals we needed. At this point, the most important thing is the three points.”
Woltemade, 23, has scored in successive internationals, having netted the only goal away to Northern Ireland in qualifying on October 13.
Slovakia won at home to Northern Ireland in second-half added time on Friday and beat Germany 2-0 in Bratislava in their opening game of the campaign.
2026 World Cup playoffs dates
The top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the play-offs, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign and take place on March 26 and 31 2026.
The games will comprise single-leg semi-finals and finals, with the draw for the World Cup finals taking place in December 2025. The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.
When is the draw for the 2026 World Cup finals?
The draw for the World Cup finals will take place on December 5 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with the ceremony starting at 17:00 GMT (12:00 ET/ 09:00 PT).
The tournament runs from June 11 until July 19 2026.
Germany lineup vs Luxembourg
Germany suffered a major blow on the eve of the game with Joshua Kimmich suffering an ankle injury in training but the captain was on the bench.
Germany starting XI: Oliver Baumann, Waldemar Anton, Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Leon Goretzka, Nick Woltemade, Florian Wirtz, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, David Raum, Ridle Baku
Germany substitutes: Alexander Nubel, Finn Dahmen, Malick Thiaw, Joshua Kimmich, Jamie Leweling, Assan Ouedraogo, Jonathan Burkardt, Felix Nmecha, Said El Mala, Nico Schlotterbeck, Kevin Schade, Nathaniel Brown
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Germany squad vs Luxembourg, Slovakia
Goalkeepers: Noah Atubolu (Freiburg), Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Finn Dahmen (Augsburg), Alexander Nuebel (Stuttgart)
Defenders: Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck (both Dortmund), Ridle Baku (Leipzig), Nathaniel Brown (Frankfurt), David Raum (Leipzig), Jonathan Tah (Bayern Munich), Malick Thiaw (Newcastle)
Midfielders: Nadiem Amiri (Mainz), Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlovic (all Bayern), Felix Nmecha (Dortmund)
Forwards: Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund), Jonathan Burkardt (Frankfurt), Said El Mala (Koln), Serge Gnabry (Bayern), Jamie Leweling (Stuttgart), Leroy Sane (Galatasaray), Kevin Schade (Brentford), Florian Wirtz (Liverpool), Nick Woltemade (Newcastle)
September 4: Slovakia 2-0 Germany
September 7: Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland
October 10: Germany 4-0 Luxembourg
October 13: Northern Ireland 0-1 Germany
November 14: Luxembourg 0-2 Germany
November 17: Germany vs Slovakia (19:45 GMT)
Germany World Cup 2026 qualifying path
The top team from each of the 12 European Qualifier groups proceeds automatically to the finals, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 runners-up in each group will join four Nations League teams in the play-offs, which will be drawn from pots based on teams’ records during the campaign. The games will comprise single-leg semi-finals and finals.
