Preview: Germany vs Northern Ireland - prediction, team news, lineups

Having suffered a rare World Cup qualifying defeat in their Group A opener, Germany must bounce straight back when they host Northern Ireland on Sunday.

While Die Nationalelf were beaten by Slovakia in midweek, their visitors started with a win in Luxembourg - now the pair will fight for three precious points.

Match preview

Clear favourites to win their four-team group and progress to World Cup 2026 automatically, Germany's first fixture did not follow that path, as they produced a subpar performance in Bratislava.

For only the fourth time ever, Germany were beaten in a World Cup qualifier, with their hosts going in front just before half time, then adding a crucial second goal 10 minutes after the restart.

Julian Nagelsmann watched on in despair as his team failed to mount a fightback, and they must now come from behind if they are to ultimately clinch top spot.

Only group winners will qualify directly for next year's finals, with runners-up going into the playoffs, so such an unexpected defeat leaves the Germans with little margin for error.

Die Nationalmannschaft continue to toil under their youthful head coach, having previously lost their last two matches in the UEFA Nations League - a semi-final defeat to eventual champions Portugal followed by a third-place playoff loss to France.

In fact, Germany have won just half of their 24 games since Nagelsmann took charge in September 2023, keeping a mere five clean sheets in their last 17.

Conceding at least twice in every match so far this year is a serious source of concern - particularly for a squad with designs on becoming world champions - so finding a fix must start on Sunday.

While their hosts may be unusually vulnerable, Northern Ireland will be burdened by the sheer weight of history when they step onto the field in Cologne: they have lost all of their last nine meetings with Germany.

The 2026 World Cup will also mark 40 years since they last featured at FIFA's top tournament, and it will be one decade on from their appearance at Euro 2016.

In recent times, they have mostly struggled, but blooding young players while winning their most recent Nations League group opened a potential backdoor route through to the World Cup playoffs.

Michael O'Neill - who memorably led his country to the Euros during his first spell as manager - has clearly rejuvenated the squad, and Northern Ireland have now won half of their last 16 matches.

Qualifying started for most European nations in March, but O'Neill's men had to wait another six months to get going before Thursday's 3-1 win away to Luxembourg.

They took an early lead as Jamie Reid fired in the rebound from a missed penalty, but their hosts drew level before half time. Crucially, Northern Ireland scored again within a minute of the restart, before Luxembourg went down to 10 men and Justin Devenny immediately added a third.

Now, though, the level of opposition steps up several notches, as wounded four-time world champions await.

Germany World Cup Qualifying - Europe form: L

Germany form (all competitions): D W D L L L

Northern Ireland World Cup Qualifying - Europe form: W

Northern Ireland form (all competitions): D D L L W W

Team News

While Germany may have an abundance of talent to choose from, Julian Nagelsmann is missing several players; most notably, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Deniz Undav, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Nico Schlotterbeck.

Eintracht Frankfurt defender Nnamdi Collins endured a tough international debut in Slovakia, so he may make way this weekend, when the likes of Robin Koch, Karim Adeyemi and Pascal Gross will all push for promotion from the bench.

Up front, Newcastle United new boy Nick Woltemade must battle West Ham United's Niclas Fullkrug for selection, with Florian Wirtz and Serge Gnabry set to provide support: the latter is the top scorer in this month's squad, with 22 goals for his country.

Northern Ireland have also been hampered by a long absence list, as forward Paul Smyth belatedly joined defenders Daniel Ballard, Brodie Spencer and Ciaron Brown on the sidelines.

With goalkeepers Pierce Charles and Conor Hazard also unavailable, Bailey Peacock-Farrell was recalled, and he started between the posts on Thursday.

Few changes - if any - are expected to a winning lineup, though Michael O'Neill may consider bringing in Luton Town midfielder George Saville or Norwich City centre-back Ruairi McConville.

Germany possible starting lineup: Baumann; Raum, Tah, Rudiger, Mittelstadt; Kimmich, Gross; Adeyemi, Wirtz, Gnabry; Woltemade

Northern Ireland possible starting lineup: Peacock-Farrell; McConville, McNair, Hume; Bradley, McCann, S. Charles, Devenny; Galbraith, Price; Reid

We say: Germany 2-0 Northern Ireland

Germany have not lost four straight games for more than a century, and they will surely stop that happening in Cologne.

While the hosts look a little shaky in defence and sometimes lack sparkle in attack, they should still see off the threat of improving Northern Ireland.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.