Results of the World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers on the morning of November 15th (Photo: UEFA).
The German national team traveled to Luxembourg under pressure to win and maintain their top spot in the group. Despite being heavily favored, coach Julian Nagelsmann and his players endured a challenging night.
Woltemade shines, helping Germany secure an important victory (Photo: Getty).
Germany’s first-half deadlock caused concern among fans. Despite the presence of numerous expensive attacking stars, Julian Nagelsmann’s tactics were almost paralyzed by Luxembourg’s disciplined defense.
It wasn’t until the 49th minute that the stalemate was broken for Germany. Nick Woltemade scored the opening goal after a quick combination play and a superb assist from winger Leroy Sane. This goal helped “Die Mannschaft” regain their rhythm after a forgettable first half.
Just 20 minutes later, striker Nick Woltemade continued his brilliant performance. The Newcastle star completed his brace, bringing his total national team goals to three, and securing a hard-fought 2-0 victory for Germany against Luxembourg (ranked 97th in the world).
With this crucial win, Germany now has 12 points and leads Group A, level on points with Slovakia but ahead on goal difference. Nagelsmann’s squad will face a “final” to secure a direct World Cup 2026 ticket against Slovakia in the final matchday on November 18th. They only need a draw to clinch the top spot in Group A.
Group A standings for World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers (Photo: FIFA).
Meanwhile, in Group G, a tactical draw in Warsaw between Poland and the Netherlands brought the Dutch very close to securing their direct qualification spot.
Poland needed a win to keep their hopes alive. The home team took the lead at the end of the first half after a crucial assist from Robert Lewandowski, setting up Jakub Kaminski to score the opening goal in the 43rd minute.
The “Oranje” only took a few minutes after the break to equalize. Memphis Depay quickly tapped in a rebound after the Polish goalkeeper’s save in the 47th minute, bringing the score to 1-1 for the Netherlands.
Poland and Netherlands play to a dramatic draw (Photo: Getty).
With this result, the Netherlands (17 points) are now 3 points ahead of Poland with a superior goal difference (19 compared to 6). Ronald Koeman’s side is almost 99% certain to qualify for the World Cup 2026.
In the final match of Group G, they only need to avoid a heavy defeat against bottom-placed Lithuania to officially advance. Poland will likely have to seek their opportunity through the play-off round.
Group G standings for World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers (Photo: FIFA).
The Croatian national team defeated Faroe 3-1 with goals from Josko Gvardiol (23rd minute), Petar Musa (57th minute), and Nikola Vlasic (70th minute). With this victory, Croatia has 19 points, 6 points ahead of second-placed Czech Republic before the final matchday, officially securing the top spot in Group L and a ticket to the World Cup 2026.
Croatia becomes the third European team to qualify for the World Cup 2026 after England and France. This marks Croatia’s 7th consecutive appearance in the most prestigious tournament on the planet. In their 7 World Cup appearances, Croatia reached the final in 2018 and finished third in 1998 and 2022.
Group L standings for World Cup 2026 European Qualifiers (Photo: FIFA).
