Qatar 2022: How did Germany qualify for the FIFA World Cup?

Germany will participate on their 20th World Cup in Qatar and are looking for a fifth title in order to tie Brazil as the winningest teams in history. The Mannschaft hoisted the trophy in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014. Germany are the National Team with the most number of finals played (8) and also have 4 third-place finishes.

Germany are in Group E, the toughest of the 2022 World Cup, with Spain, Japan and Costa Rica. It's time for vindication considering they failed to surpass the group stage in Russia 2018 against Sweden, Mexico and South Korea. Three years later, they also disappointed after being eliminated by England in the Round of 16 of the UEFA Euro. That ended the historic run of Joachim Löw as manager.

Now, a new era begins under Hansi Flick. He won it all at the club level with Bayern Munich and will try to replicate it for the National Team. Read here to find out how was the road for Germany before becoming the first team to qualify for Qatar 2022 behind the hosts.

How did Germany play in the qualifiers for the World Cup in Qatar?

Germany played in Group J of the UEFA qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar alongside Armenia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia and Romania. Hansi Flick's team started their campaign with a 3-0 victory at home against Iceland and a 1-0 triumph at Romania in Bucharest. Then, in one of the biggest surprises, North Macedonia beat them 2-1 in Duisburg on Matchday 3.

After that wake-up call, Germany didn't look back. Seven wins in their last seven matches to secure the first place of Group J and a berth in the World Cup. 27 points, 9 victories, one loss and an impressive goal differential: 36 goals in favor and only 4 against. Serge Gnabry, Ilkay Gündogan and Timo Werner were the top-scorers for Germany with 5 goals during the qualifiers. Leroy Sané had 4, Kai Havertz 3 and Thomas Müller also got 3.

If Germany survive Group E in the World Cup against Spain, Japan and Costa Rica, the road to the final might have rivals such as Belgium, Brazil and France. Try our 2022 World Cup Predictor to find out all the possible combinations for the historical contender which unbelievably arrives as the 'dark horse' to Qatar.