Germany suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in their opening 2026 World Cup qualifier on Thursday, while Spain began their campaign with a dominant 3-0 victory away to Bulgaria.
Atletico Madrid defender David Hancko broke the deadlock just before halftime in Bratislava, finishing unmarked inside the box. Middlesbrough’s new signing David Strelec doubled Slovakia’s lead with a stunning strike into the top corner 10 minutes after the restart.
The result gave Slovakia a dream start in Group A as they chase a first World Cup appearance since 2010. Germany, however, find themselves under pressure after another setback, having already lost to Portugal and France in the UEFA Nations League Final Four earlier this year. Julian Nagelsmann’s men next face Northern Ireland in Hamburg on Tuesday, with Luxembourg also in their group.
Elsewhere in Group A, Northern Ireland defeated Luxembourg 3-1. Goals from Jamie Reid, Shea Charles, and Justin Devenny sealed the win after Seid Korac’s red card left the hosts vulnerable.
In Group E, Spain showed their quality in Sofia against Bulgaria. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring inside five minutes, Marc Cucurella added a superb second on 30 minutes, and Lamine Yamal provided an assist for Mikel Merino to make it 3-0 before halftime. Spain now prepare to face Turkey, who edged Georgia 3-2 in Tbilisi despite finishing with 10 men.
Other results saw the Netherlands held to a 1-1 draw by Poland in Rotterdam, with Matty Cash’s late strike cancelling out Denzel Dumfries’ opener. Lithuania equalised deep into stoppage time to draw 1-1 with Malta in the same group.
In Group J, Belgium thrashed Liechtenstein 6-0 in Vaduz, with goals from Maxim De Cuyper, Youri Tielemans (twice), Arthur Theate, Kevin De Bruyne, and Malick Fofana. Wales stayed top of the group with a 1-0 win in Kazakhstan courtesy of Kieffer Moore, though Belgium have two games in hand.
