German national team after victory against Northern Ireland: Deserved to reach the final
With the 1-0 win in a roaring Windsor Park in Belfast, the German national team stayed on course for World Cup qualification. However, one thing is also certain: whether coach Julian Nagelsmann's team will gain direct entry to next year's world tournament in North America will only be decided on November 17, in the final Group A match against Slovakia in Leipzig.
That the Germans would face this final was not planned. Before the start of the campaign, Nagelsmann had set the goal of securing their World Cup ticket with a dominant and confident performance. This plan failed after the first match, the 2-0 defeat in Slovakia. The looming World Cup qualifying decider against this opponent is therefore something the Germans themselves have brought upon themselves.
However, it must be considered a success that the German national team has a chance in the final match—depending on the outcome of the matches on the penultimate matchday, even a very good chance. After the defeat in Slovakia and the subsequent, unconvincing first leg against Northern Ireland (3-1), it was quite conceivable that the German national team would have lost direct World Cup qualification early, thus jeopardizing their participation in the playoffs.
Nagelsmann's team avoided this scenario with a 4-0 victory over Luxembourg last Friday and a 1-0 win in Northern Ireland. The victories weren't particularly impressive, but they reflect the current level of the poorly-coordinated and injury-weakened team. The German national team is currently unable to dominate and confidently progress through a group containing Slovakia, Northern Ireland, and Luxembourg. What they should be capable of, however, is securing direct World Cup qualification in a final against Slovakia on the final day of the season.
rnd
