Three observations from Germany’s 4-0 win over North Macedonia

Germany are officially the first nation to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with a big 4-0 win over Macedonia to win Group J with two matches to spare. It wasn’t a pretty much in the rain down in North Macedonia, but the Germans gritted through a first half to explode with goals in the second half.

That first half really sucked.

If you watched this game, you know what an absolute slog the first half of the match was. North Macedonia is terrible, and Germany looked very disinterested in doing anything of consequence for the majority of the 45 minutes. The Germans had 76% of the possession in the first half and probably only really threatened the North Macedonian goal a couple of times.

There were things that were ridiculous to see like Timo Werner finding oodles of space on multiple occasions, only to have his first touch fail him or, in one case, hit the post. There were also inexplicable things like Serge Gnabry pulling up from 35 yards out on a 2-on-1 counterattack and hitting a cross to nobody. It was almost like he got tired and said, “screw it.”

Still, in recent years, it’s very likely that we would’ve seen Germany concede a goal in a first half like that; however, Niklas Süle and Thilo Kehrer were pretty good at the back today in stifling most of the North Macedonia counters. Germany survived that awful first half without conceding, and it helped spark their victory.

If Werner can figure out the goal-scoring side of the game, Germany can win the World Cup.

If you heard a loud noise in the second half of the match, it’s because our fearless leader Chuck Smith blew the horn while attaching another car to the #TimoTrain.

Look, nobody thinks Timo Werner is perfect. He’s a forward, and the weakest part of his game is his finishing. It’s painful to watch at times, because Werner regularly finds himself in open space due to a lot of hard work prior to receiving a pass; however, it’s almost like his brain goes blank and he forgets how to put the ball into the net most of the time.

He should’ve had at least one goal heading into halftime, but he was unable to convert the best chance for either side, hitting the post in the process. It was bad!

Still, with that said, Werner showed the potential that he’s always had in the second half. While his first goal was thanks to the brilliant assist more than his finish, Werner’s second goal was a brilliant curling ball to the far post to seal the match.

Müller’s assist on Werner’s first goal was otherworldly.

While a lot of the talk in this match will rightfully be about Werner’s two-goal performance, Thomas Müller’s two-assist performance was just as incredible. If Germany have any hope at being successful next November/December in Qatar, it’s going to be in large part thanks to Müller.

His assist on Werner’s first goal was simply incredible. Müller is such an incredible player, and it’s hard to put into words just how great he is at times. Look at this beauty!