Wolong has emerged, only the phoenix is ​​left! Germany is given the gift of ranking first, while Italy rushes to the play-offs alone

Although the 2026 US-Canada-Mexico World Cup European Qualifiers are only halfway through, the biggest conspicuous package has already appeared.

On October 11, the seventh round of the World Cup European Qualifiers group stage started in full swing. The two games of Group A that ended first made the biggest thing in this qualifying round ripe early.

There are a total of 4 teams in Group A: Germany, Slovakia, Northern Ireland, and Luxembourg. The German team is a seeded team and is a step ahead; the Luxembourg team is weak but still a seasoned veteran; the Slovakia and Northern Ireland teams are evenly matched and are competing for a place in the play-offs.

However, something went wrong in Group A in the first round. The German team lost to the Slovak team 0-2 in an away game, suffered a bad start, and fell rapidly towards the dangerous abyss of the play-offs.

However, if there is a brother in trouble, there will be a brother in trouble. The Italian team, which jointly supported the European football team with the German team in the early days, also received a blow in the head. The Italian team was even worse than the German team. Not only did they lose to the only threatening opponent in the group, Norway, they also lost 0-3.

Subsequently, the Italian team changed coaches and also won 3 consecutive victories. But the Norwegian team not only won all 4 games, but also had a huge goal difference against the same group. Italian football is always about strong defense and weak attack. Seeing that the goal difference has widened to double digits, this veteran giant, which has been unlucky in recent years, can only prepare for the play-offs in advance for the third time in a row.

As for the German team, after two consecutive victories, they are 3 points behind the Slovakia team, and the goal difference is also 3 points behind. The hope of overtaking is not impossible, but it is still a bit difficult. Just do two things: first, get the goal difference first; second, beat the Slovak team in the second round.

As a result, the German team defeated the Luxembourg team with 4 goals in this round. Although according to the original plan of the German team, 4 goals was only the minimum requirement, it still reduced the goal difference with the Slovak team to a distance that could be evened out in one game.

However, football is so magical. In another match in Group A, the Northern Ireland team defeated the Slovakia team 2-0 at home this round, giving the German team a great gift and sending the German team to the top of the group. Although the three teams in Group A have a total of 6 points after three rounds, everyone understands that the German team has taken the initiative.

The German team got out of trouble early, leaving the Italian team as the only conspicuous team. Originally, the Italian team was expecting the German team to keep them company, but now it seems that they can only go to this dangerous and unknown playoff match alone.

Can the Italian team realize its shame and be brave enough to end the embarrassment of missing two consecutive World Cups? At present, it seems that at least it is not as dangerous as the previous two times.