Croatia World Cup qualifier
Why this result is good for the DFB team
October 9, 2025 – 11:33 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Germany wants to be among the top nine teams in the FIFA world rankings. But this also requires help from other teams – like on Thursday.
The top game in World Cup qualifying group L did not find a winner. The game between Croatia and the Czech Republic ended in a 0-0 draw. For league leaders Croatia, this means that group victory and the associated direct qualification for the World Cup remain in their own hands. With 13 points from five games, the team led by midfield director Luka Modrić has the best points tally.
Nevertheless, the result could also have negative consequences for Croats. Because the third place in the 2022 World Cup is in a long-distance duel with Germany, Morocco and Italy for ninth place in the world rankings. Croatia (1714.20 points), Italy (1710.06) and Morocco (1706.27) recently overtook Germany with two wins each. After the 2-0 defeat in Slovakia in September, the DFB team is only twelfth with 1,704.27 points.
The Croatians’ draw against the Czech Republic will now lead to losses for Modrić and Co. in the FIFA rankings. Whether one or more of the teams mentioned, including Germany, can take advantage of this depends on the coming results.
Only the top nine teams in the world rankings are seeded as group heads for the upcoming World Cup. The 2026 World Cup will consist of 48 teams for the first time. These are divided into twelve groups with four teams each. Each team has a group leader. The three hosts are set as group leaders. Mexico is in Group A, Canada is in Group B and the USA is in Group D.
Not only would this result in a likely lighter group, there would also be another advantage. National coach Julian Nagelsmann already emphasized in March of this year that he wanted to have one of the top nine places in the world rankings in order to be the group leader. “This is important to be a seeded team in the World Cup draw and to be able to avoid a team like Mexico with the geographical conditions,” he said.
That’s why it’s even more important for the German national team to win the World Cup qualifiers against Luxembourg and Northern Ireland on Friday and Monday.