Woltemade header sends Germany past Northern Ireland

A header in the opening half by Nick Woltemade secured a narrow 1-0 victory for Germany against a resilient Northern Ireland in Belfast on Monday, maintaining their position at the summit of the 2026 World Cup qualifying group.

Woltemade gave the away side the lead with a headed effort after 31 minutes, marking his debut goal for the national team.

This result ensured Germany remained ahead in the group on goal difference compared to Slovakia, who secured a 2-0 triumph over Luxembourg on the same day.

Germany and Slovakia both boast three victories from four outings, but solely the group leader earns automatic qualification to the upcoming World Cup. The two sides will clash in Leipzig come November, with Germany as hosts.

Even with the defeat, Northern Ireland trail the leaders by just three points. They face away trips to Slovakia and a home encounter with Luxembourg, the latter having suffered losses in all four of their games so far.

Eager to reach a World Cup finals for the first time since 1986, Northern Ireland entered the fixture buoyed by a surprising 2-0 success against the hitherto undefeated Slovakia.

Germany's manager Julian Nagelsmann sought to build on the 4-0 rout of Luxembourg from Friday, opting for the identical starting lineup for consecutive matches for the first time since Euro 2024.

The visitors weathered an initial threat when Daniel Ballard's effort in the 14th minute was disallowed due to an offside infringement during the buildup.

Slightly beyond the halfway point of the first period, Woltemade rose to connect with a corner delivered by David Raum, opening the scoring for Germany.

Just one of Woltemade's 17 strikes for Stuttgart in the previous campaign came via header, yet the 1.98-metre forward has evidently honed his aerial prowess to capitalise on his stature.

Following his high-profile transfer to Newcastle during the off-season, Woltemade has netted three headers among his five goals across club and international duty.

Karim Adeyemi squandered an excellent opportunity to extend Germany's advantage shortly after the interval, set clear on goal by Florian Wirtz, only to fire directly at the Northern Ireland custodian from Borussia Dortmund.

Northern Ireland earned a corner in added time desperate for an equaliser, but the German defence stood resolute, with Jonathan Tah of Bayern Munich mopping up the danger.