Germany closer to finding out World Cup Qualifying Group | OneFootball

Germany are one step closer to finding out their World Cup Qualifying group after Thursday night’s UEFA Nations League win against Italy. Goals from Tim Kleindienst and Leon Goretzka secured a 2-1 win for Julian Nagelsmann’s side after Sandro Tonali opened the scoring for the Italians.

The winner of the Nations League quarter-final between Germany and Italy will be placed into Group A of the UEFA 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification. That would mean games against Slovakia, Northern Ireland and Luxembourg. The loser would be drawn into Group I, alongside Norway, Israel, Estonia and Moldova.

Germany’s 2-1 win against Italy means Nagelsmann’s side are unbeaten in the 2024/24 edition of the Nations League. Group stage wins against Hungary (5-0), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2-1 and 7-0), the Netherlands (1-0) and draws against Hungary (1-1) and the Netherlands (2-2) means the national team are now unbeaten in their last seven games.

A return to remember for Leon Goretzka

Leon Goretzka made a return to the German national team for the first time since November 2023, and he repaid Nagelsmann’s trust with an excellent performance. With 67 touches of the ball, per FotMob, Goretzka completed seven passes into the final third, created one chance and as well as scoring the winning goal, completed 96 percent of his passes. After a dip in form for both Germany and Bayern Munich, Goretzka’s work ethic to rekindle his form has been nothing short of exceptional.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder