Despite this being a classic David and Goliath clash, the teams were indistinguishable in their respective roles during a purposeful opening 30 minutes for Luxembourg in their namesake capital.
Clearly determined to avoid their first pointless WC qualification cycle in 20 years, the Red Lions responded to an early saved effort from Florian Wirtz with three clear chances – Daniel Sinani was the focal man on two occasions, firing across goal via a Leandro Barreiro ball from the left and then forcing Oliver Baumann to save at his near post.
Between those chances, Aiman Dardari only just missed the far post when drifting in from Germany’s vulnerable-looking left flank, and when a VAR check for a possible handball inside the box from Ridle Baku was dismissed, the hosts only continued to fight tooth and nail.
While that didn’t translate to much in the way of further first-half opportunities for them, they showed their defensive skills too, the Germans never getting anywhere near the sort of room they were afforded in Sinsheim during October’s 4-0 landslide.
Reaching HT at 0-0 was a moral victory in itself for Luxembourg, but the dream of their first post-war win over a German first XI was smashed to pieces four minutes after the interval. In the end, it was the simplest and most direct approach that unlocked them, with a long ball from Aleksandar Pavlovic being taken down expertly by Leroy Sane, who laid off Nick Woltemade to sidefoot home inside the box.
Unsurprisingly, Luxembourg struggled to recreate their former energy, but they could easily have drawn level at the three-quarter mark. Once again, Barreiro was a lively figure, with his pass out to the right for Olivier Thill finding him in turn, before he flicked on for Christopher Martins, who could only fire off-target from six yards.
The Germans punished that barely two minutes later, making it 2-0 with a similar pattern to that which brought about the opener, as a long ball from a throw-in found Sane just right of the box. This time, he played the ball to Baku on the edge of the box, who then passed through for Woltemade to burst into the box and drill home his third goal in two international appearances.
Germany were never in real danger of giving up any points once Woltemade had broken the deadlock, and regardless of Luxembourg’s earlier bravery and bluster, the records still show that they have won just once against any opponent since March 2024 (D3, L12).
As for Germany, they can confirm top spot in Group A with a draw against Slovakia on Monday night, after making it 24 unanswered goals across their last five H2Hs against Luxembourg, maintaining what remains a very one-sided H2H legacy.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leroy Sane (Germany)
