In Round 5 of the Group Stage in the First Phase of the European World Cup Qualifiers, Germany lost 2-0 away to Slovakia—marking the first time Germany has ever suffered an away defeat in World Cup Qualifiers.
The match against Slovakia was Germany’s 105th World Cup Qualifier. In the previous 104 qualifiers, Germany had only lost 3 times (83 wins, 18 draws), and all of those defeats were at home: a 1-0 loss to Portugal in Stuttgart in October 1985 (their first ever World Cup Qualifier defeat); a heavy 5-1 defeat to England in Munich in September 2001; and a 2-1 loss to North Macedonia in Duisburg in March 2021.
To date, Germany has faced 32 different national teams in World Cup Qualifiers. Among these, they have played Finland most frequently (5 times), while encounters with true top-tier opponents have been rare—having faced only the Netherlands, England, and Portugal (twice each). Prior to this match, Germany had maintained an unbeaten away record in World Cup Qualifiers that spanned 52 matches; this 53rd away game saw the streak come to an end with the 2-0 loss to Slovakia.
