Germany becomes first team to qualify for the Qatar World Cup
Four-time world champions Germany advanced to the main draw of the upcoming Qatar World Cup after beating North Macedonia to qualify for the first round. They beat North Macedonia 4-0 on Monday night in the Group J match of the European qualifiers.
Timo Warner scored a pair of goals for Germany. Kai Herwitz and Jamal Musiala also scored one goal each. Thomas Mueller contributed a lot in the first two goals.
The first half of the match was goalless. After the break, Germany attacked the host North Macedonia. Kai Herwitz opened the scoring for Germany in the 50th minute of the match. Timo Warner then scored two goals in the 70th and 73rd minutes of the match. Jamal Musiala scored the fourth goal for Germany in the 83rd minute.
As the host country, Qatar receives an automatic bid, but Germany became the first team to earn its spot through a qualifying process. Winners of the 10 groups in UEFA’s World Cup qualifying round advance to Qatar, while runners-up and the top two Nations League group winners remaining will fight for the region’s final three spots in a playoff.
Denmark can also clinch its group on Tuesday with a win against Austria. The Danes have dominated their group, winning all seven of their World Cup qualifiers with a +26 goal differential and without conceding a single goal.
The 2022 World Cup kicks off Nov. 21, 2022 in Al Khor, Qatar.