Preview: Can Nagelsmann steady the ship against confident Northern Ireland? | OneFootball

On Thursday, the German national team experienced a memorable evening. At the start of World Cup qualifying, the DFB team lost 2-0 to Slovakia, leaving more questions than answers nine months before the big tournament.

“I don't want to hear the word ‘quality’ anymore, it's about emotions. We selected the best players from Germany (...), but maybe we need to focus less on quality and more on players who give their all. That would have led to a different result than when the best players play. That's official,” raged national coach Julian Nagelsmann after the game.

The topic of emotions in the German team has been talked about a lot in the lead-up to the game against Slovakia, but it has already been a factor a few months ago - the spirit in the national team has changed ever since the 2024 EUROS.

The defeat was especially damaging because it marked a historic first - Germany’s first away loss in World Cup qualifying - and it has intensified pressure on Nagelsmann to produce not just a tactical fix but an immediate psychological response.

Said pressure hands Northern Ireland a perfect chance to upset the balance. Michael O’Neill’s team opened the group with a textbook away performance in Luxembourg: Jamie Reid poacher’s goal, a composed reply from Shea Charles early in the second half and Justin Devenny’s header to seal the 3-1 win put the visitors in the ideal mood for a tough trip to Cologne.

Tactically this match promises to be a contrast. Germany, who looked changeable and at times experimental against Slovakia, will almost certainly opt for more structure: tighter control in midfield and a back four rebuilt to stop the quick transitions that punished them in Bratislava.

Northern Ireland’s strengths are simple and effective: disciplined defensive blocks, physical central midfielders who break up play, and forwards who work tirelessly to press and punish mistakes. Against a compact Northern Ireland, Germany must be sharper and more clinical around the box. Mistakes from the backline, especially in build-up play, must be reduced to a minimum - Germany had far too many of those in the game against Slovakia.

So how might the game play out? Germany will be expected to dominate possession and territory, but the worry is exactly how they convert that control into clear chances - Slovakia showed that German possession can be porous without intensity and cleverness in the final third.

Predicted lineups of both teams:

Based on the personnel Nagelsmann used against Slovakia and the tweaks most outlets reckon he’ll make, a likely Germany XI could look like this:

Germany (4-2-3-1): Baumann - Mittelstädt, Rüdiger, Tah, Raum - Goretzka, Kimmich - Gnabry, Wirtz, Adeyemi - Woltemade

Returning Joshua Kimmich to the right-back position would be one option. However, that would mean admitting that moving him to central midfield was a mistake. A more likely scenario would be to play Maximilian Mittelstädt on the unfamiliar right side. The Stuttgart player has already proven in the past that he is a versatile player - most recently against Slovakia, where he was used as the right-back for the second half.

Goretzka was not at his best in a more forward position against Slovakia and is therefore likely to return to the double pivot and next to his Bayern teammate Kimmich. In front of them, Adeyemi, who looked energetic when he came on in Bratislava, is likely to get a shot in the starting eleven; Nadiem Amiri or Jamie Leweling could also be candidates for this positions, though.

Northern Ireland will likely stick with the XI that beat Luxembourg, the same compact, hard-working group that combines experienced pros with hungry youngsters - only midfielder Saville and defender McConville could really come into consideration:

Northern Ireland (3-4-2-1): Peacock-Farrell - Toal, McNair, Hume - Bradley, McCann, Charles, Devenny - Galbraith, Price - Reid

If Germany fail to win this game, the country will go into somewhat of a panic state and the backlash would be huge: in a group consisting of them, Slovakia, Luxembourg and Northern Ireland, the Germans are expected to finish first - no doubt about it. Besides that, Germany need to win matches in order to stay in the top 9 of FIFA's world ranking: only the top 9, assuming all of them qualify for the 2026 World Cup, will be the head of each individual group at the tournament, which is something Germany would definitely like to be.

Let's see if Nagelsmann and his boys can send their fans home happy this time - or if Bastian Schweinsteiger, as he did after the loss against Slovakia, will point to the unhappy and disappointed fans again after the final whistle.