It was a night when Germany or Slovakia would have automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup final, but as soon as Nick Woltemade fired home his header, the match was over.
Kimmich with a glorious cross and the Newcastle United star did the rest after 18 minutes, Martin Dubravka having no chance to save.
By the time 41 minutes had been played it was 4-0 to Germany, the win Slovakia needed simply never seemed possible.
Two more goals after the break and easily Germany’s most convincing victory in the group stage of World Cup qualifying.
Since signing for Newcastle United, Nick Woltemade has scored a total of ten goals in the last two and a half months, six for United and four for Germany.
Newcastle United team-mate Malick Thiaw was again on the bench after also appearing as a late substitute in Friday’s 2-0 win against Luxembourg.
This time he got his chance after 64 minutes with Germany leading 4-0. The Newcastle United defender was shown a yellow card after just six minutes on the pitch, but Thiaw helped his team keep four clean sheets in a row. The remaining five goals were scored by Gnabry, Sane (x2), Baku and Ouedraogo.
Nick Woltemade and Malick Thiaw can now look forward to the 2026 World Cup final and a huge boost for the pair as they travel back to Tyneside, a huge game to prepare for on Saturday when Newcastle take on Man City at St James’ Park.
This is the November 2025 international fixture list for Newcastle United players:
Thursday November 13
Moldova 0 Italy 2
Sandro Tonali played the full match in this World Cup group qualifier and although it took until the 88th minute for the away side to score, they fully deserved the eventual 2-0 win. Tonali, the key figure in midfield, dominated throughout (28 to 3 shots, 13 to 1 corners, 65 to 3 touches by players in the opposition penalty area) but struggled to convert that into goals.
England 2 Serbia 0
A dominant performance from England with a classy Saka strike giving the hosts a half-time lead. Dan Burn watched from the bench as the Three Lions failed to capitalize on their chances until Eze matched Saka with the quality of his finishing in the 90th minute.
Friday November 14
Luxembourg 0 Germany 2
Two high-quality finishes in the second half from Nick Woltemade, the first with his left boot and the second with his right boot, sent Germany to this crucial 2-0 win. They now just need to avoid defeat at home to Slovakia on Monday to automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals.
Great to see Malick Thiaw also enter the field, coming on in the 79th minute as Woltemade played the full match.
Saturday November 15
Brazil 2 Senegal 0
Bruno Guimaraes excels in this friendly match at the Emirates Stadium.
An excellent performance in defense and attack, with Goal not rating any Brazilian player higher than the 8 out of 10 they awarded the NUFC star, describing his contribution as; ‘A complete performance from a complete player.’
Switzerland 4 Sweden 1
Anthony Elanga started and played the first 78 minutes, a match in which the Swedish midfield struggled to gain control and the defense proved vulnerable. The Newcastle United winger came off after 78 minutes with the score at 3-1, with Emil Krafth an unused substitute. A shocking story so far with one point from five group games so far. Sweden will finish bottom unless they beat Slovenia on Tuesday. However, the Swedes are lucky, because thanks to the Nations League results from a while ago, they managed to secure a place in the play-offs for this World Cup final.
Sunday November 16
Albania 0 England 2
Dan Burn picked up his fourth start in this fifth England appearance for the Newcastle defender. In the last World Cup qualifier, England were the better team, but not as fluid with seven changes. Dan Burn put in a decent shift and created a great chance that Bellingham should have finished. Harry Kane scored another victory for England with two goals in the last 16 minutes of normal time.
Italy 1 Norway 4
As Gattuso said he would, Sandro Tonali took no chances as a yellow card would have seen him suspended when it came to the play-offs in March 2026 for the World Cup finals.
Only three points separated the two teams ahead of this final group match, but Norway had a 17-goal lead over GD, meaning Italy would have needed to win by nine goals to qualify automatically. Italy took the lead, but four second-half goals, including two from Haaland, left the home side under-matched.
Monday November 17
Germany 6 Slovakia 0
Nick Wolte fired a powerful header past Martin Dubravka and Germany never looked back as they qualified for the 2026 World Cup finals, the striker scoring his tenth goal of the season so far for club and country. The remaining five goals were scored by Gnabry, Sane (x2), Baku and Ouedraogo.
Big Nick played the full match, while his NUFC teammate Malick Thiaw came on in the 64th minute and kept a clean sheet, although he was shown a yellow card in the process.
Tuesday November 18
Sweden vs Slovenia (Emil Krafth, ***Anthony Elanga has withdrawn from the squad for personal reasons) World Cup group qualifier
Brazil vs Tunisia (Bruno Guimaraes) Friendly match on neutral ground (Lille)
Slovakia U21s v England U21s (Lewis Miley, Lewis Hall) U21s European Championship Group Qualification
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