dpa
Berlin
Germany thrashed Bosnia-Herzegovina 7-0 on Friday to secure the top position in their Nations League group.
The win in Freiburg means the Netherlands cannot reach Germany any more even with one game left in the group stage.
Jamal Musiala needed only 79 seconds after kick-off to break the deadlock for Germany, and Tim Kleindienst increased their lead with his first goal for the national team.
Kai Havertz basically sealed the win before the break, Florian Wirtz’s brace and Leroy Sané’s effort put the game to bed in the second half, and Kleindienst’s second completed the score.
“That was fun. The things we wanted to do, we did them well,” Musiala told broadcasters RTL.
Germany had already qualified for the newly-introduced quarter-finals, but the group win gives them an easier draw as they aim to reach the Nations League final four for the first time.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann has stressed several times that the Nations League title is an important interim goal ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
“Incredible performance, from the defence to the offence,” Nagelsmann said.
Germany complete the group stage on Tuesday in Hungary.
Comfortable lead in the first half Germany didn’t need long to take the lead. Joshua Kimmich’s cross to the area was finished off by Musiala with a header with less than two minutes on the clock.
The second goal took a little longer, but eventually came in the 23rd. Kleindienst initially deflected a clearance to Robert Andrich, who fired the ball goalwards from the edge of the box.
Kleindienst tried to get out of the way but his foot still touched the ball, deflecting it into the right corner.
Havertz secured Germany a comfortable lead before the break as he played a one-two with Kimmich before slotting the ball into the net.
Wirtz and Kleindienst withbraces; concerns over Kimmich Wirtz was doubtful for the match after he missed the team training on Tuesday and Wednesday due to an infection.
But there were no signs of it as he made it to the starting line-up and scored two goals, one them in a stunning free-kick.
Substitute Sane used all his class to control the ball before hitting the target in the 66th and Kleindienst also got himself a brace in the 79th to complete the score.
Nagelsmann’s evening, however, wasn’t perfect because captain Kimmich left the pitch with an ankle injury. He was down for a few minutes and received treatment on the pitch, before going to the sidelines on his own and being subbed off.
The coach said that Kimmich took a knock to the capsule of his ankle, “but hopefully nothing dramatic. No serious injury.”
