Germany delivered a commanding display in Sinsheim, sweeping aside 10-man Luxembourg 4-0 to strengthen their grip on World Cup qualification and move closer to a 19th consecutive appearance at the finals.
The tone was set early when David Raum curled home a sublime free-kick in the ninth minute, his first-ever goal for the national team which came after Serge Gnabry’s earlier effort had been ruled out for handball in the buildup.
Luxembourg’s resistance collapsed soon after when defender Dirk Carlson deliberately blocked Gnabry’s goal-bound effort with his hand inside the area.
The referee pointed to the spot and showed Carlson a straight red card, leaving the visitors with a mountain to climb. Joshua Kimmich dispatched the penalty with typical composure to double Germany’s lead.
Despite being reduced to ten men, Luxembourg’s spirited defending kept the scoreline respectable before halftime, with goalkeeper Anthony Moris denying Gnabry and Florian Wirtz in quick succession.
But the floodgates opened shortly after the restart as Germany’s relentless pressure paid off.
Gnabry made it 3-0 just three minutes into the second half, racing onto Karim Adeyemi’s through ball and firing high into the roof of the net.
Moments later, Kimmich added his second of the night, pouncing amid a scramble in the box to put the result beyond doubt.
Germany continued to dictate the tempo, with Wirtz striking the post from a free-kick as Nagelsmann’s side eased off in the closing stages.
The victory puts Germany at top of the group of their World Cup qualification group based on a superior goal difference and progression may come down to the final group clash with Slovakia.
