Ireland vs. Germany: Score, Twitter Reaction, Grades and More

The luck of the Irish wasn’t with the Ireland national soccer team as it was walloped 6-1 by a much more talented Germany team on Friday.

Germany held just a 2-0 lead at the half after two goals from Marco Reus.

However, the Germans erupted with a scoring spree in the second half. Goals from Mesut Ozil, Miroslav Klose and Toni Kroos capped a six-minute scoring spree that would blow this one wide open.

Kroos later added more insult to injury as the Germans easily chalked up another win and moved one step closer to qualification for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Ireland didn’t quit until the final whistle, though, knocking in a header off a perfectly placed corner in the 91st minute to avoid the 6-0 shutout.

Twitter Reaction

Devon Murray, the actor who played Seamus Finnigan from Harry Potter, pretty much summed up the entire first half of this one.

"

Am so depressed watching this Ireland vs Germany game!!!! We really need to pull out all the stops in 2nd half!! :-/

— Devon Murray (@DevonMMurray) October 12, 2012"

The Boylesports Studio captured the three straight goals perfectly with its description of the events.

"

Three goals in six minutes have turned the Aviva into a scene of a massacre. Ireland 0 Germany 5. And there's still 27 mins left.

— Boylesports Studio (@Boylestudio) October 12, 2012"

The Mirror appealed to the sportsman in all of us after the Germans went up 5-0.

"

GOAL! Ireland 0-5 Germany. Where's the funf in this?

— MirrorFootball (@MirrorFootball) October 12, 2012"

Lukas Podolski made a brief appearance after things were well out of hand and set a record in the process, according to an Arsenal supporter's Twitter account.

"

After coming off the bench v Ireland, Lukas Podolski (104) has now overtook German legend Franz Beckenbauer (103) in appearances for Germany

— TotallyArsenal (@TotallyArsenal) October 12, 2012"

It didn't take long for fans to turn to calling for the head of the Irish manager after the embarrassment they witnessed on Friday.

"

Trap must go. Unbelievable. Worst than I expected, and I expected a slaughter. Even Staunton's Ireland did better against Germany.

— David N (@conanriquelme) October 12, 2012"

Grades

Mesut Özil, Germany: A

Despite the fact that he seemingly dove to draw a penalty kick, Ozil delivered with a goal on that penalty try that deflated the Irish team in the 55th minute.

He was outshined by multiple goal scorers Marco Reus and Toni Kroos but could have easily scored more if not for the Germans easing back after taking a 5-0 lead.

Marco Reus, Germany: A+

After a slow start, Reus knocked in two goals eight minutes apart that gave the Germans a lead they would not surrender.

Like Ozil, Reus wasn’t required to do much more after the team opened things up in the second half and switched to cruise control to ride out its impressive win in Ireland.

Keiren Westwood, Ireland: D

Anytime a goalkeeper gives up six goals it should be considered a travesty. Germany is a very good team and created a lot of opportunities on goal. You can blame Westwood, or you can blame the entire side of Ireland for those opportunities.

Either way, Westwood simply didn’t get it done in this critical World Cup qualifying matchup.

Jonathan Walters, Ireland: B

Walters’ effort and determination hasn’t gone unnoticed despite his team’s inability to get anything going. Germany clearly outmatched Walters and the Irish, but the 29-year-old striker did his best to keep the squad in contention.

What’s Next

Germany moves to 3-0 and will face Sweden in its biggest test of this Group C qualifier. The Germans' emphatic victory over Ireland in Dublin may have just sealed their trip to Brazil. It’ll take a meltdown and a surge by Sweden for them to miss out on the action in 2014.

For the Irish, they’ve fallen to 1-1 but are not out of it yet. However, a loss like Friday’s thumping in Ireland may have been enough to effectively kill the team’s spirits. If they somehow salvage a win against Sweden on March 22, the Irish may have a long shot of earning a spot in the qualifying tournament in November 2013 for a chance to go to Brazil.

Follow @BigHoagowski