Germany secured a place at next year's World Cup by crushing Slovakia 6-0 in their final qualifier on Tuesday (AEDT), pummelling them into submission with four goals in the first half, and sending their opponents into a playoff in March.
Leroy Sane scored twice and Nick Woltemade and Serge Gnabry also struck in a dominant first half that saw Germany quickly seal victory and secure top spot in Group A to automatically qualify for next year's tournament.
The four-time world champions, who crashed out in the first round of the last two editions of the World Cup, finished top of their group on 15 points, with the Slovaks second on 12.
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"Every player gave it all," Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said.
"We played a really great game. We worked very hard. We scored great goals and were convincing with our game. Today there is no reason to complain. There was pressure and they pushed themselves and showed a great team spirit. I am proud of the team."
The Germans, needing a draw or a win to secure top spot, left nothing to chance and shot out of the blocks to take control early.
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Unmarked Woltemade headed in for the lead in the 18th minute with his fourth consecutive goal in the last three matches for Germany.
Serge Gnabry should have doubled it when he charged into the box but his low shot was blocked by Slovakia keeper Martin Dubravka in the 25th.
Gnabry made amends four minutes later as he latched onto a perfect Leon Goretzka pass to make it 2-0.
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An equally quick move saw Florian Wirtz put Leroy Sane through in the 36th to curl his shot past Dubravka and put the game to bed before Wirtz delivered another assist for the winger to bag 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.
"From the first to the last second we did not allow anything at the back and were creative," said striker Woltemade.
"I hope it was fun to watch us tonight. It is great to play for Germany. We have now qualified for the World Cup."
The pace dropped after the break but substitutes Ridle Baku and 19-year-old Assan Ouedraogo added a goal apiece, with the latter becoming the youngest player to score for Germany on his debut.
The Germans, who have qualified for the World Cup for the 21st time, second-most after Brazil's 23, have openly set their goal of winning the World Cup, co-hosted by Mexico, the United States and Canada, to restore their dented reputation as a global football powerhouse.
They have not reached a final in any major international tournament since winning their fourth World Cup in 2014 in Brazil.
NETHERLANDS BOOK THEIR SPOT AS WELL
Three-time World Cup runners-up the Netherlands secured their berth at the 2026 finals with an easy 4-0 home victory over Lithuania to finish top of Group G.
The victory 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.
Tijjani Reijnders put the Netherlands 1-0 ahead at halftime before the hosts scored a rapid trio of goals in the second period from Cody Gakpo, Xavi Simons, and Donyell Malen.
The unbeaten Netherlands finished on 20 points, with Poland on 17 after they scraped a 3-2 win away to Malta.
Reijnders opened the scoring in the 16th minute as he turned sharply to finish off a pass from Frenkie de Jong.
He had been left out of the starting side for the 1-1 draw against Poland in Warsaw, as Justin Kluivert was preferred in the attacking midfield role.
However, Kluivert was injured for Tuesday's (AEDT) match, handing Reijnders a chance to remind everyone of his quality.
He almost had a second goal on the half-hour mark, bursting through the middle and hitting the post with a curling right-foot effort.
Three goals in a four-minute spell started fortuitously in the 58th minute when Gakpo converted a penalty awarded after a VAR check showed Artemijus Tutyskinas touched the ball with his fingertip as he went up in an aerial duel with Matthijs de Ligt.
Simons thrashed home the third goal on the hour mark, jockeying past two defenders before a powerful strike gave goalkeeper Edvinas Gertmonas no chance.
Two minutes after that, Malen broke from the halfway line on the counter-attack and showed a swift turn of speed to outsprint the chasing defenders and hammer home with his left foot.
"I think there were some good things in our performance," said playmaker De Jong.
"Maybe we faded a bit, but the period after halftime was great for the crowd. Of course, you want to score as much as possible, and 4-0 is ultimately fine.
"Now the real work begins. We're going to improve as much as possible and arrive at the World Cup in the best possible shape," said the midfielder.
It will be the 12th time the Dutch have participated in the World Cup.
They were losing finalists at the 1974, 1978 and 2010 tournaments.
LATE GOAL NOT ENOUGH FOR POLAND
Poland's Piotr Zielinski struck late to earn a 3-2 victory away to Malta but it was not enough to claim top spot in their World Cup qualifying group and they had to settle for a place in the playoffs for next year's finals.
Poland's win at Ta'Qali's National Stadium lifted them to 17 points in Group G, the second-place finish bringing a chance to book a ticket to North America via the playoffs in March.
The Netherlands claimed direct qualification as they finished top with 20 points after thrashing visiting Lithuania 4-0.
Malta finished fourth with five points.
"In the first half, we played too statically, not only in defence but also in attack," said Poland captain Robert Lewandowski.
"We played the ball too slowly and couldn't get into the game at all. We left too much space for our opponents. A lot of things were missing. It wasn't our standard game, but we won anyway."
Poland broke the deadlock in the 31st minute when Lewandowski leapt up unmarked in the box to meet Zielinski's cross and headed into the corner.
Malta levelled four minutes later, punishing a failed clearance from goalkeeper Bartłomiej Dragowski as Irvin Cardona reacted quickest in the six-yard box to tap the ball into the net.
Poland regained the lead in the 59th when Kurt Shaw's tackle on Lewandowski inadvertently redirected the ball into the path of Pawel Wszolek, who swept home his first international goal in almost 10 years.
The visitors appeared to have doubled their advantage when Karol Swiderski finished off a quick counter, but VAR ruled it out due to Jakub Kiwior's foul on Cardona in the box at the other end.
The goal was overturned and a penalty awarded instead, with Teddy Teuma sending Drągowski the wrong way to bring Malta level again in the 68th minute.
Zielinski settled the contest five minutes from time, unleashing a low strike from distance that took a heavy deflection before skidding inside the far post.
"I hope that nothing will be missing in the playoffs and that luck will smile on us in the draw," the 37-year-old Lewandowski added.
"I hope that in March we will be celebrating our qualification to the World Cup."
CZECHS RUN RIOT AGAINST GIBRALTAR
The Czech Republic dismantled Gibraltar in their final World Cup qualifier, cruising to a 6-0 win and a second-place finish in Group L that brings a playoff spot.
The hosts notched five first-half goals with David Doudera scoring in the fifth minute when his first-time effort from Tomas Chory's pass found the bottom right corner.
Chory, Vladimir Coufal, Adam Karabec and 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 for the Czechs against a Gibraltar side that failed to register an attempt.
The Czechs had locked up second place before the match and finished on 16 points behind Croatia, who have 22 after fighting back from two goals down to beat Montenegro 3-2.
– with Sam Worthington
Teams qualified for the 2026 World Cup
UNITED STATES
Taking part as hosts
Best performance: Third (1930)
MEXICO:
Taking part as hosts
Best performance: Quarter-finals (1970, 1986)
CANADA:
Taking part as hosts
Best performance: Group stage (1986, 2022)
JAPAN
Qualified on: March 20
Best performance: Round of 16 (2002, 2010, 2018, 2022)
NEW ZEALAND
Qualified on: March 24
Best performance: Group stage (1982, 2010)
IRAN
Qualified on: March 25
Best performance: Group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018, 2022)
ARGENTINA
Qualified on: March 25
Best performance: Winners (1978, 1986, 2022)
UZBEKISTAN
Qualified on: June 5
Best performance: Never previously qualified.
SOUTH KOREA
Qualified on: June 5
Best performance: Fourth place (2002)
JORDAN
Qualified on: June 5
Best performance: Never previously qualified.
AUSTRALIA
Qualified on: June 10
Best performance: Round of 16 (2006, 2022)
BRAZIL
Qualified on: June 10
Best performance: Winners (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002)
ECUADOR
Qualified on: June 10
Best performance: Round of 16 (2006)
URUGUAY
Qualified on: September 4
Best performance: Winners (1930, 1950)
COLOMBIA
Qualified on: September 4
Best performance: Quarter-finals (2014)
PARAGUAY
Qualified on: September 4
Best performance: Quarter-finals (2010)
MOROCCO
Qualified on: September 5
Best performance: Semi-finals (2022)
TUNISIA
Qualified on: September 8
Best performance: Group Stage (1978, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2018, 2022)
EGYPT
Qualified on: October 8
Best performance: Round of 16 (1934)
ALGERIA
Qualified on: October 9
Best performance: Round of 16 (2014)
GHANA
Qualified on: October 12
Best performance: Quarter-finals (2010)
CAPE VERDE
Qualified on: October 13
Best performance: Never previously qualified
SOUTH AFRICA
Qualified on: October 14
Best performance: Group stage (1998, 2002, 2010)
QATAR
Qualified on: October 14
Best performance: Group stage (2022)
ENGLAND
Qualified on: October 14
Best performance: Winners (1966)
SAUDI ARABIA
Qualified on: October 14
Best performance: Round of 16 (1994)
IVORY COAST
Qualified on: October 14
Best performance: Group stage (2006, 2010, 2014)
SENEGAL
Qualified on: October 14
Best performance: Quarter-finals (2002)
FRANCE
Qualified on: November 13
Best performance: Winners (1998, 2018)
CROATIA
Qualified on: November 14
Best performance: Runners-up (2018)
PORTUGAL
Qualified on November 16
Best performance: Third place (1966)
NORWAY
Qualified on November 16
Best performance: Round of 16 (1938, 1998)
GERMANY
Qualified on November 17
Best performance: Winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014)
NETHERLANDS
Qualified on November 17
Best performance: Runners-up (1974, 1978, 2010)
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