Germany Secure Victory over Luxembourg, Eyes on Northern Ireland Test
Germany defeated Luxembourg 2-0 in a world Cup qualifying match played on Friday evening at a sold-out Sinsheim Arena, attended by 25,249 spectators. Goals from David Raum (48th) and Serge Gnabry (48th) secured the win for the German national team, marking their first clean sheet of the year.
The match saw Germany largely dominate possession, particularly after Luxembourg’s Dirk Carlson received a red card in the 20th minute for a handball preventing a clear scoring prospect for Serge Gnabry. Referee Nenad Minakovic (Serbia) awarded a penalty, which Kimmich converted. Earlier in the match, a goal by Nick Woltemade was disallowed due to a handball in the build-up.
Despite the numerical advantage, Germany initially struggled to break down Luxembourg’s defensive 5-4-0 formation.Raum opened the scoring with a direct free kick, a method he also employed recently in the Bundesliga. Gnabry then added a second goal with a shot from around ten meters. Kimmich later scored his first brace in a Germany jersey.
DFB coach Julian Nagelsmann was forced to improvise due to the absence of key players like Marc-André ter Stegen and Jamal Musiala,but was pleased to have oliver Baumann and Nick Woltemade return to fitness before the match. He also surprisingly deployed Joshua Kimmich at right-back, where he made his 104th international appearance, surpassing Franz Beckenbauer’s record.
The victory brings Germany’s qualifying points total to six, boosted by Slovakia’s 0-2 loss to Northern Ireland. Nagelsmann stressed the importance of a strong performance in Monday’s match against northern Ireland in Belfast (8.45 p.m./RTL and ntv.de live ticker) to maintain their World Cup qualification hopes.Germany will conclude their qualifying campaign in November with matches against Luxembourg and Slovakia.
Nagelsmann also gave Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown his international debut during the second half,utilizing the opportunity to conserve energy for the upcoming match.Florian Wirtz hit the post with a free kick in the 62nd minute, but no further goals were scored.
