The defeat against Portugal has an impact on the group draw for the 2026 World Cup for Germany’s national team: The DFB team is not set.
Defeats sometimes have greater effects than it seems at first glance. The 1: 2 against Portugal in the Nations League meant on the one hand that the German national team missed the final. On the other hand, this bankruptcy also had other effects for the German national team.
With a victory, the team of coach Julian Nagelsmann would have slipped into the world rankings in ninth and would have pushed Italy in the FIFA ranking. The DFB team is currently in tenth. This is significant because only the best nine nations are set in lottery for the 2026 World Cup.
Hope still available
The DFB team could thus meet a top team in the preliminary round. In addition to defending champion Argentina, Spain, France, England, Brazil, the Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium and Italy would currently be in one of the twelve World Cup groups. There are also the three hosts USA, Canada and Mexico.
At least there is still a little hope for the German team. Should in the Nations League Third place and the Italian team in the World Cup qualification would be possible to improve. However, this option is provided with many question marks.