Germany take on the visitors Northern Ireland in a World Cup 2026 qualification match. The match will be played on Sunday, September 7th at RheinEnergieStadion (Cologne).
Germany spent a long time struggling, showing frankly mediocre or even poor results. In the end, Flick became the first manager ever dismissed by the German Football Association against his will. The federation guessed right with his successor, Nagelsmann. He managed to prepare his squad for the “home” Euros, and Germany even reached the Nations League finals afterwards. On the other hand, they still lost to Spain in extra time in the quarterfinals of the Euros, and in June fell short in the Nations League “final four” against both Portugal and France. The desire for tangible, real success is obvious. Yet beginning qualification in Slovakia, the favorites stumbled badly, losing 0-2. Still, Germany remain one of the most talented teams in Europe, with Havertz, Musiala and Wirtz forming a dangerous attacking trio. Despite recent disappointments, they have scored in 10 of their last 11 matches, showing offensive consistency.
| 2 x £10 Free Bet | Review | |||
| 100$-500$ for No Lose Free Bets | Review | |||
| 100% up to £200 | Review | |||
| Not available | Review |
Northern Ireland are showing modest progress so far. The “Norn Iron” achieved their biggest (and perhaps only major) success under current coach O’Neill, qualifying for Euro 2016 and even reaching the knockout stage. Since then, neither he nor his successors managed to repeat such an achievement. After O’Neill’s return, the only notable accomplishment came last autumn with a first-place finish in their Nations League group — though the opponents were Bulgaria, Belarus and Luxembourg. In 2025 friendlies they only managed to beat Iceland, while drawing with Switzerland and losing to Sweden and Denmark. Finally, as qualification began in Luxembourg on Thursday, they secured a solid 3-1 victory. Their defense still remains shaky, with goals conceded in six of their last seven games. However, Northern Ireland often find a way to frustrate stronger teams, especially when playing compact football.
There have been around fifteen meetings, with all of Northern Ireland’s successes coming back in the last century — in the Euro 1984 qualifiers, they beat the “Mannschaft” twice and added a couple of draws. Since then, however, Germany have won nine straight encounters. Germany are simply obliged to come out firing after their recent defeat. We back them to win with a -2.0 handicap.
Prediction for the match: Germany to win with -2.0 handicap.
