Sports Mole previews Friday’s World Cup Qualifying – Europe clash between Germany and Luxembourg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Having made a hesitant start to their World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign, Germany will expect to brush off lowly Luxembourg when the teams meet on Friday.
After suffering a rare defeat on Group A’s opening matchday, Die Nationalelf bounced straight back; but they still sit third in the standings, just above their pointless visitors.
Match preview
Expected to stroll straight through as group winners and book an automatic spot at next year’s global finals, Germany instead started off with a first-ever away defeat in World Cup qualifying.
Surprisingly beaten 2-0 in Slovakia early last month, Julian Nagelsmann‘s side then returned to action three days later, hosting Group A’s third seeds Northern Ireland in Cologne.
It was another unconvincing performance, with the score tied at 1-1 before Nadiem Amiri and Florian Wirtz both struck in the final 20 minutes to avoid more embarrassment on home turf.
The four-time world champions now resume their campaign sitting third in the table, with a tricky trip to Belfast scheduled straight after Friday’s home fixture.
Only the first-placed team in each group advances straight to the newly expanded 48-team finals, meaning Germany must catch and overhaul Slovakia if they want to avoid a playoff.
So, with Nagelsmann’s win-rate across his first 25 matches as Bundestrainer standing at a modest 52%, the pressure is on to claim maximum points this month.
To date, the Germans have won all three competitive meetings with Luxembourg – scoring 16 goals in the process – so anything less than an emphatic win will result in even more intense scrutiny.
Luxembourg have also lost eight of nine friendlies between the neighbouring nations, with the sole exception a shock 2-1 home win back in 1939.
Like history, current form is not on their side, as Les Lions Rouges suffered back-to-back defeats in their first set of World Cup 2026 qualifying fixtures.
Though they were beaten by Northern Ireland and Slovakia, Jeff Strasser‘s side proved to be no pushovers: a red card midway through the second half cost them dearly in their opener, before they almost held out for a point on matchday two.
In fact, only conceding a last-gasp goal condemned Luxembourg to a 1-0 home loss when they met group leaders Slovakia last time out.
That made it nine competitive games without a win for the Grand Duchy, who recently fell to 96th in the FIFA World Rankings and remain rock-bottom of Group A.
Having missed perhaps their best chance to take points, they must now face the top two seeds in successive away matches: after heading to Sinsheim – home of Bundesliga club Hoffenheim – a tough trip to Trnava awaits.
Germany World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
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Germany form (all competitions):
W D L L L W
Luxembourg World Cup Qualifying – Europe form:
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Luxembourg form (all competitions):
W L L D L L
Team News
Since Manuel Neuer’s international retirement – and given the ongoing injury woes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen – Oliver Baumann has become Germany’s first choice goalkeeper, but he may be forced to miss Friday’s game due to illness.
Freiburg’s Noah Atubolu was called up as cover, in case the Hoffenheim captain cannot play at his home stadium – albeit Stuttgart’s Alexander Nubel might start if Baumann fails to recover.
Uncapped defender Nathaniel Brown has been selected for the first time, as Real Madrid star Antonio Rudiger was ruled out – the latter joins injured forwards Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala on the sidelines.
After missing last month’s fixtures, Nico Schlotterbeck is now available, but Pascal Gross and Niclas Fullkrug have both been dropped; in the latter’s absence, Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade should start up front.
Meanwhile, three Germany-based players could feature in Luxembourg’s lineup: St Pauli’s Danel Sinani and Augsburg forward Aiman Dardari usually join forces up front, while Greuther Furth midfielder Mathias Olesen should line up behind them.
Borussia Dortmund teenager Enzo Duarte misses out this month, though, as does veteran defender Mica Pinto.
Strasser – who represented Kaiserslautern and Borussia Monchengladbach during his playing days – can now call upon Seid Korac, who has served a one-match ban for his red card against Northern Ireland.
Germany possible starting lineup:
Nubel; Anton, Tah, Koch; Schade, Kimmich, Goretzka, Raum; Gnabry, Wirtz; Woltemade
Luxembourg possible starting lineup:
Moris; Jans, Mahmutovic, Korac, Carlson; Olesen, Barreiro; Moreira, Sinani, Bohnert; Dardari
We say: Germany 4-0 Luxembourg
After keeping just five clean sheets in their last 18 games, Germany can both pick up maximum points and post a rare shut-out.
Luxembourg have incrementally improved in recent years, but they remain lightweight up front and vulnerable to quick attackers at the back.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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