Location: Stade de Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg
Date: Friday, November 14th, 2025
Time: 9:00pm local time (2:45pm EST)
After an unprecedented loss against Slovakia, Germany rattled off three consecutive wins in FIFA World Cup Qualifying. Before Monday’s critical match against Slovakia, Germany will look to pad the goal-differential advantage against Luxembourg.
Historically, Germany have dominated the Luxembourgers with five wins in European qualifiers and the Olympics, with a plus-24 goal differential. This includes a 4-0 victory last month in Sinsheim, Germany. Captain Joshua Kimmich scored a brace and his Bayern Munich teammate, Serge Gnabry, also added a goal.
With four defeats, Luxembourg has been officially eliminated from World Cup qualifying. After only holding 16% possession in the last match against Germany, the Luxembourgers will be clinging on for pride alone.
Here is the predicted lineup, courtesy of BFW:
Julian Nagelsmann will want to load up on goals and has limited options at center back. Antonio Rüdiger won’t return from injury until the spring and Nico Schlotterbeck is nursing a swollen foot. Against a weaker opponent, a three-back system will allow Nagelsmann to maximize the makeup of his roster.
The ankle injury to Joshua Kimmich is devastating but not for the Luxembourg game. This was the perfect moment for Tom Bischof to break into the Germany roster but is not on the 23-man roster for this international break. Instead, Leon Goretzka will be the next man up.
Once Germany develops a comfortable lead, Nagelsmann can shift to a more traditional 4-2-3-1 with Ridle Baku at right back. Nagelsmann will also need to protect some of the attackers from tired legs.
This would be a sensible game to shift Goretzka to center back and give Jonathan Tah or Waldemar Anton a rest before the crucial rematch against Slovakia. Nadiem Amiri was in the original 23-man squad but will be replaced by RB Leipzig midfielder, Assan Ouedraogo.
Luxembourg has settled into a four-man defense but lack experience all over the pitch. The Luxembourgers will likely sit in a low block and only push forward opportunistically, counting on set pieces for goal scoring opportunities.
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