Commentary on the German national team: The opposite of dominance

The German national team's 3-1 victory against Northern Ireland was a victory for Julian Nagelsmann in two respects. First, the result prevented the public debate about the national coach's job security from escalating. If, after the 2-0 defeat to Slovakia, the match against the 71st-ranked team had also been lost, it would have triggered a coaching debate that would have been almost impossible to contain—and rightly so.

Secondly, the result was a victory for Nagelsmann, because he had largely brought it about himself. With the substitution of Nadiem Amiri, the national coach changed the game – Amiri scored the 2-1 himself and won the free kick, which Florian Wirtz converted to add the third.

Nagelsmann's relief at not having to follow up the low point against Slovakia with an even lower low point against Northern Ireland was evident after the final whistle. Nevertheless, after the first two matches of the World Cup qualifiers, it can be said that the German national team has already missed one goal. Nagelsmann had expressed the ambition of dominating the qualification round, but after the 2-0 defeat against Slovakia, the 3-1 victory against Northern Ireland was the opposite of dominance, despite the better result.

The German team was sluggish offensively for a long time, their defense was seriously shaky, and after Northern Ireland's 1-1 draw, they were clearly gripped by the fear of embarrassing themselves for the second time in four days – and played accordingly. The fact that the winning goals came from a crude goalkeeping error (Amiris' 2-1) and a free kick (Wirtz's 3-1) also doesn't speak volumes about the desired superiority.

The matches against Slovakia and Northern Ireland definitively refuted the assumption that the German national team, after last year's decent home European Championship, would be on a straight path upwards, ideally leading to the 2026 World Cup. The German public and coach Nagelsmann were shown just how limited the team's capabilities and quality are.

After their last two performances, the World Cup title is hardly more realistic for the Germans than a Deutsche Bahn train without delays. But at least the victory against Northern Ireland has increased the chances of the Germans even making it to the World Cup.