Germany vs. Northern Ireland: Score and Reaction for World Cup 2018 Qualifying
Germany cruised to yet another 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier win on Tuesday, easily beating Northern Ireland 2-0.
Die Mannschaft made a fantastic start, scoring through Julian Draxler and Sami Khedira inside the first 20 minutes. Germany dominated every facet of the game before the break, and they barely had to get out of gear in the second half.
As Germany's official Twitter account shared, manager Joachim Low didn't make any changes to his team, with Mario Gotze once again starting up front:
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
From the opening minute, the world champions pushed forward, and Gotze tested goalkeeper Michael McGovern after just two minutes with a bullet header.
Northern Ireland barely managed to work the ball out of their own half, as Germany's pressure was relentless. Jonas Hector found much success early, and Gareth McAuley only just managed to clear one of his many sharp crosses.
Draxler and Hector both had shooting chances before the former opened the score after just 13 minutes, finishing off a beautiful passing move.
As FC Bayern English shared, Thomas Muller got the assist:
Four minutes later, Die Mannschaft doubled their lead. Mats Hummels headed a cross back in front of goal, and Khedira was left wide open to slot home past McGovern.
The Sun's Mark McIntosh feared for the visitors:
Northern Ireland tried to keep hold of the ball for a spell, but to no avail. As soon as Germany reclaimed possession, they pushed forward again. Toni Kroos had an open shooting chance after a great ball from Draxler, but he elected to search for Joshua Kimmich instead of taking it on himself.
Jamie Ward should have pulled one back on a rare counter opportunity, but he squandered Jonny Evans' superb pass over the top by aiming his effort right at Manuel Neuer. On the other side of the pitch, McGovern came off his line in a hurry and stole the ball away from Kimmich by mere inches.
Meanwhile, Bleacher Report UK noticed a disturbing trend had made its way into the stands:
Die Mannschaft almost added a beautiful third goal before half-time, with Muller pulling another cross back for Gotze, who finished first-time. Unfortunately for the hosts, Muller was deemed to be offside when he received the ball.
Northern Ireland wanted a penalty shortly before half-time after a clash between Ward and Jerome Boateng, but replays confirmed the foul took place outside the box, and the official rightly awarded a free-kick that came to nothing.
Going into half-time, Bleacher Report's Lars Pollmann wondered why the two teams were even on the pitch together:
Low brought on Ilkay Gundogan to replace Mesut Ozil at the start of the second half, and the Borussia Dortmund man almost introduced himself in spectacular fashion, as his shot from inside the box was blocked.
Die Mannschaft actively searched for a third goal, with Khedira testing McGovern with a redirected strike. Boateng played in Gotze with a sensational ball over the top, but his header was cleared before it could cross the goal line.
Kimmich fought out a fantastic battle with Shane Ferguson out wide, but the Bayern man won more often than not. Fatigue didn't help, as the Northern Irishmen clearly started to lose ground toward the end of the match.
The visitors did manage to limit chances, however, and Low's troops were more than happy to pass the ball around for the bulk of the second half, taking the 2-0 win.
Ozil was happy with the way qualifying has played out for his team so far:
Germany's next outing will be a trip to winless San Marino in November, while Northern Ireland host Azerbaijan.
