"It's not pleasant here": "Dirty" DFB team makes the whole football nation hope and suffer

The German national team wins the crucial World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland. In Belfast, the German national team shows a new side: that of dirty football. And national coach Julian Nagelsmann is relieved.

All it takes is one action to reawaken Windsor Park in Belfast. Suddenly they're back, the Northern Irish fans. They clap, they roar, they rise to their feet, and chant their battle cry: "Green White Army." Once again, they cheer every corner like a heroic feat, every throw-in like a goal. At times, even the handful of German fans who had traveled with the team and their lone drum could be heard among the 17,926 in attendance.

But half an hour before the final whistle, that finally came to an end. From the beginning, the stadium had been harassing DFB goalkeeper Oliver Baumann, booing, heckling, and insulting him. And then, in the 60th minute, the logical consequence happened: A stressed-out Baumann played an inaccurate pass to Joshua Kimmich. The DFB captain, in turn, tried to prevent the opposing throw-in in his own penalty area and kept the ball in play with a sliding tackle. And suddenly, the underdog had a great chance to equalize at 1-1.

Don't worry: Nothing tangible came out of the situation. But it changed the rest of the game. The Northern Irish had been unbeaten in Belfast for two years. National coach Michael O'Neill, his team, and the fans had created a perfect fortress. Anyone who saw this Northern Irish team in their national stadium is no longer surprised. International matches are rarely so atmospheric, so passionate. It was a close call for this streak to have held on to the German national team. In the end, it was a stroke of luck that Nagelsmann's team held on to their 1-0 (1-0) lead.

Not really aesthetic

But the German national team weathered the storm in the Northern Irish fortress. Not pretty, but successful. Almost all of the players emphasized this after the final whistle. They knew it would be a tough game, the national coach, for example, said afterwards. There's a certain irony to it (even more so later): Julian Nagelsmann spent a whole week warning about the Northern Irish's long balls. What the national coach said was a compliment, was received very differently on the island. But Nagelsmann was proven right. There was an early taste of what was to come: after a quarter of an hour, a long ball flew towards the German penalty area and, after some chaos in the German box, found its way into the German goal. But Windsor Park trembled for nothing: offside.

For the first time, you can sense why so much had been said beforehand about this stadium, which is situated in the heart of a residential area, so romantically football-oriented. And rightly so: The way the Northern Irish fans cheer on their team is completely different from what one is used to in Germany when cheering on the national team. Significantly more emotional, significantly more positive. What helps is that the fans arrived at Windsor Park already confident. Two Northern Irish journalists, looking at the lineup in the press area, joked among themselves that they had seen better German teams. The anticipation was great, because they too had seen how difficult the German national team had found it so far in World Cup qualification.

The national coach fielded the same team that had beaten Luxembourg 4-0 three days earlier. While several regular players are still missing, there are some positive aspects to these October matches: one of the coach's favorite tools is back in the DFB toolbox. Central defender Schlotterbeck showed, especially in the first half, why Nagelsmann valued him so highly. The BVB star repeatedly played diagonal balls across the pitch – from the left to the right. This at least helped the DFB team stretch the tight Northern Irish defense somewhat. Nagelsmann countered the Northern Irish long balls with Leon Goretzka, who threw himself into every aerial duel – but was apparently helpless when in possession.

Memories of the second league

And so the whole game isn't really for football aesthetes, who hopefully had better things to do on this Monday evening. It speaks volumes when the protagonists say that the performance wasn't particularly appealing, but was combative. In the basement of Windsor Park, left-back David Raum reveals that he was reminded of his time in the second division. You know the drill: That's the place where it's often not just about footballing quality, but above all about fighting spirit, determination, and luck. It wasn't pretty football on Monday evening either, Raum admitted. "But it was important for us to win these games. It's not pleasant here; you have to win here first."

It hardly needs any further description: Both teams were playing poorly together. The German national team at least tried, but was thwarted either by themselves or by the hosts. Florian Wirtz tried hard, but was at least as unlucky. Karim Adeyemi threw himself into one-on-one duels time and again, but rarely emerged victorious.

It could have gone on forever if it hadn't been for the 31st minute. Something happened that hardly anyone thought possible: Nick Woltemade (finally) scored his first goal for Germany. After a corner from Raum, the 23-year-old shouldered the ball into the net. Attention, and here, too, it becomes somewhat ironic: Nagelsmann had warned before the match about the Northern Irish's ability to take set pieces. And now it's the German national team that has scored five of the eight qualifying goals so far from set pieces. During the October games, Nagelsmann had only trained set pieces and defense. It was a "new quality," the national coach explained. "That can always be a can-opener – beating the opponent with weapons that make them strong." Almost in the style of a top team.

It is only 72nd in the FIFA world rankings

But the fragility of Germany's lead became apparent time and again. Shortly before halftime, Northern Ireland's Ethan Galbraith prevailed in a sort of ping-pong duel with Kimmich and Jonathan Tah. He managed to cross the ball on the edge of the box, but striker Jamie Reid sent his shot wide. Despite the Northern Irish's combative performance, the DFB's constant thought was: What if that wasn't the 72nd player in the FIFA world rankings? What if it wasn't Jamie Reid of third-division Stevenage FC who was scoring, but Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid?

No matter. Shortly after the break, the German national team even had a chance to seal the victory. Wirtz, who was constantly booed, sent Adeyemi on his way with an elegant pass. The Dortmund player played everything perfectly: He crossed the path of the two defenders chasing him and thus had a clear shot. He only put it wide of the goal. Even the British Guardian newspaper was irritated: "An extraordinary miss from someone so talented." The fact that he was also tugged on the shoulder perhaps explains the miss.

A cry of relief

The beauty of the game diminishes even further after that. A foul here, a misplaced pass there, a miscue there: It threatens to drag on like this until the end. But then the aforementioned 60th minute arrives. Suddenly, Windsor Park springs back to life. In the stands, the Northern Irish fans share in the suffering. They watch the wild final phase, in which the German national team begins to simply hit the ball forward long, mostly from a standing position. Anyone with a railing in front of them leans on it. Many clasped hands can also be seen in the stadium. O'Neill's team attacks bravely, but is somewhat haphazard.

In the end, however, it's Kimmich who lets out a loud cry of relief. The final whistle blows. "It 's great that we're celebrating such a nasty away win thanks to such a set piece," Raum says happily afterward. After all, that was also the problem in the 2-0 defeat in Bratislava.

At the end, a relieved national coach sits in the packed press room at Windsor Park and says something that somehow explains everything: "Today, the table was simply important." Because if you want to become world champions (which is still the goal), you have to qualify. And so far, no team has won a World Cup title in qualifying. With the win, the German national team now shares the top spot with Slovakia. The match for group victory will take place on November 17th – the loser will advance to the playoffs.