Nick Woltemade said Germany “conceded a lot of 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 twice went close either side of Aiman Dardari – who also plays in the Bundesliga for Augsburg – shooting just wide early on, with Germany perhaps lucky to go goalless at the break.
“We knew Luxembourg could play football,” Newcastle striker Woltemade told RTL (via Bayern & Germany) after scoring both goals in Die Mannschaft’s 2-0 win.
“Everyone admitted at half-time that the first half wasn’t good. We were definitely better then, with more control and more chances.”
Luxembourg vs Germany: Woltemade satisfied
Woltemade struck from a Leroy Sane cross and a Ridle Baku pass to ensure Germany will automatically reach the tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico if they avoid defeat at home to Slovakia on Monday.
“The second half was better,” Woltemade said, criticizing “a lot of back and forth” in the first half.
“We were more precise and scored the goals we needed. At this stage, the most important thing is the three points.”
Woltemade, 23, has scored in successive international matches, having scored the only goal against Northern Ireland in qualifying on October 13.
Slovakia won at home to Northern Ireland in second-half injury time on Friday and beat Germany 2-0 in Bratislava in their opening match of the campaign.
2026 World Cup Qualifiers Dates
The best team from each of the 12 European qualifying groups automatically advances to the final, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 finalists from each group will join four Nations League teams in the play-offs, which will be drawn based on the teams’ records during the campaign and will take place on March 26 and 31, 2026.
Matches will include semi-finals and single finals, with the draw for the World Cup final taking place in December 2025. The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
When will the draw for the final phase of the 2026 World Cup take place?
The draw for the World Cup final will take place on December 5, 2025 at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, with the ceremony starting at 5:00 p.m. GMT (12:00 p.m. ET/ 09:00 a.m. PT).
The tournament runs from June 11 to July 19, 2026.
Line-up of Germany against Luxembourg
Germany suffered a blow the day before the match with Joshua Kimmich suffering an ankle injury in training but the captain was on the bench.
Germany starting lineup: Oliver Baumann, Waldemar Anton, Jonathan Tah, Aleksandar Pavlovic, Leon Goretzka, Nick Woltemade, Florian Wirtz, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, David Raum, Ridle Baku
Germany replaces: 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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German team against Luxembourg and Slovakia
Goalkeepers: Noah Atubolu (Fribourg), 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)
Midfield: Nadiem Amiri (Mainz), Leon Goretzka, Joshua Kimmich, Aleksandar Pavlovic (all Bayern), Felix Nmecha (Dortmund)
Advantages: Karim Adeyemi (Dortmund), Jonathan Burkardt (Frankfurt), Said El Mala (Cologne), 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 (7:45 p.m. GMT)
Germany’s qualification path for the 2026 World Cup
The best team from each of the 12 European qualifying groups automatically advances to the final, which will be expanded to 48 teams.
The 12 finalists from each group will join four Nations League teams in the play-offs, which will be drawn based on the teams’ records during the campaign. Matches will consist of single semi-finals and finals.
