Germany secured a place at next yearâ€s World Cup by crushing Slovakia 6-0 in their final qualifier, pummelling them into submission with four goals in the first half and sending their opponents into a playoff in March.
The four-time world champions, who went out in the first round of the last two editions of the World Cup, finished top of their group, three points clear of Slovakia.
An unmarked Nick Woltemade headed Germany into the lead in the 18th minute with his fourth goal in his last three international matches. Serge Gnabry latched on to a perfect Leon Goretzka pass to make it 2-0.
Florian Wirtz put Leroy Sané through to curl his shot past Martin Dubravka and put the game to bed, before Wirtz delivered another assist for the winger to score his second goal of the evening five minutes later. Slovakia, who had beaten Germany in Bratislava in September, had no answer to the hosts†relentless pressure.
“We played a really good game tonight,†said Woltemade. “From the first to the last second we did not allow anything at the back and were creative. I hope it was fun to watch us tonight. It is great to play for Germany. We have now qualified for the World Cup.â€
The pace dropped after the break but the substitutes Ridle Baku and Assan Ouédraogo added a goal apiece, the latter becoming the youngest player to score for Germany on his debut aged 19.
The Netherlands secured their berth at the finals with an easy 4-0 home victory against Lithuania, finishing top of Group G. The margin could have been even bigger, such was the Dutch dominance, but the result ensured they completed the campaign three points clear of second-placed Poland.
Cody Gakpo enjoys scoring as Netherlands eased to qualification. Photograph: Piroschka Van De Wouw/Reuters
Tijjani Reijnders put the Netherlands 1-0 ahead at half-time before the hosts scored a rapid trio of goals in the second period from Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons and Donyell Malen.
Piotr Zielinski struck late to earn Poland a 3-2 win away in Malta, securing the visitors a spot in next yearâ€s playoffs. Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring before Irvin Cardona equalised. Pawel Wszolek swept Poland ahead again before Teddy Teumaâ€s penalty made it 2-2.
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Jamie Donleyâ€s first international goal saw Northern Ireland end their Group A campaign with a drab 1-0 win over Luxembourg at a subdued Windsor Park. Donley, making his first competitive Northern Ireland start, sent Anthony Moris the wrong way from the penalty spot in the 44th minute after Christopher Martins fouled Ciaron Brown in the box, which was all it took to settle a disappointing game.
Northern Ireland had hoped this would be the night they secured second place in the group, but Fridayâ€s stoppage-time 1-0 defeat by Slovakia left this as a dead rubber – albeit with a playoff place in March to look forward to due to their Nations League group win last year.
Czech Republic, who were already assured of a playoff place, dismantled Gibraltar 6-0. The hosts managed five first-half goals with David Doudera scoring in the fifth minute. Tomas Chory, Vladimir Coufal, Adam Karabec and the captain Tomas Soucek also netted in a dominant opening period. Robin Hranac bundled in a corner minutes after the restart to round off the scoring.
The Czechs had locked up second place before the match and finished on 16 points behind Croatia, who recovered from two goals down to beat Montenegro 3-2.
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