Slovakia can continue to dream of a direct World Cup ticket before the final against Germany. If they win, the Slovaks will be at the World Cup.
Coach Francesco Calzona’s team defeated Northern Ireland 1-0 (0-0) and can no longer be pushed out of one of the first two places in qualifying group A. In the showdown on Monday (8:45 p.m.) in Leipzig, the Slovaks have to win in order to overtake the DFB team. Otherwise the path leads through the play-offs.
Later cheers
Tomás Bobcek let the Slovaks, who surprisingly won 2-0 against the DFB team at the start in September, celebrate late (90th + 1) thanks to the work of former Bundesliga player László Bénes.
Previously, the two goals from Milan Skriniar for offside (55′) and David Strelec for foul play (65′) were conceded by VAR. Northern Ireland’s Daniel Ballard saw the yellow-red card (90th + 9th).
Even if the Northern Irish are now third in the group, they can still hope for a World Cup ticket. Because of their performance in the Nations League, they move up to the playoffs.