Germany vs Northern Ireland Prediction and Betting Tips

Having picked up contrasting opening-day results in Group A of the 2026 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, Germany take on Northern Ireland at the RheinEnergieStadion on Sunday. Michael O'Neill’s men will head into the weekend looking to get one over the home side, having lost the last nine meetings between the teams since November 1996.

Germany were left stunned in Thursday’s World Cup qualifying curtain-raiser as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Slovakia when the two nations met at the Tehelne Pole.

With that result, Julian Nagelsmann’s side have now lost three successive matches, including a 2-0 defeat against France in the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League third-place playoff in March.

Germany will be backing themselves to bounce back this weekend as they go up against an opposing side who have lost each of their last nine encounters since a 1-1 draw in November 1996.

Northern Ireland, on the other hand, turned in a dominant team display in the opening game on Thursday when they picked up a 3-1 victory over Luxembourg at the Luxembourg Stadium.

O'Neill’s men have gone five straight competitive matches without defeat, picking up three wins and two draws since a 1-0 loss against Bulgaria in the Nations League in September 2024.

North Ireland, who are currently 71st in the latest FIFA World Rankings, will look to pick up a huge result on Sunday and strengthen their stake for a first World Cup appearance since 1986.

Germany vs Northern Ireland Head-To-Head and Key Numbers

Germany hold a clear upper hand in the history of this fixture, having picked up 13 wins from the last 19 meetings between the two nations.
Nagelsmann’s men are on a run of 12 consecutive matches without defeat against Northern Ireland, picking up nine wins and three draws since a 1-0 loss in November 1983.
Northern Ireland are unbeaten in seven of their last nine games across all competitions, claiming four wins and three draws since September 2024.
Germany have failed to win five of their most recent six matches, losing three and claiming two draws, having gone unbeaten in the five games preceding this run.

Germany vs Northern Ireland Prediction

Following their disappointing opening-day result, Germany will head into the weekend looking to restore some pride and get their qualifying campaign up and running.

While Northern Ireland will be aiming to continue from where they dropped off against Luxembourg, Nagelsmann’s men boast the firepower needed to get the job done and we are backing them to extend their dominance in this fixture.

Prediction: Germany 3-1 Northern Ireland

Germany vs Northern Ireland Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Germany to win

Tip 2: First to score - Germany (The hosts have opened the scoring in four of their last five games against Northern Ireland)

Tip 3: Over 4.5 cards - No (There have also been fewer than five bookings in the last seven meetings between the two nations)

About the author

Joshua is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda who covers news and match previews. He fell in love with the sport watching Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o win titles at club and international level, and his passion for the sport led him to become a professional football writer. He has an overall professional experience of 5 years.

Joshua supports Chelsea at club level, having witnessed a number of African stars break records with the club. Drogba’s equalizing header and match-winning shootout penalty for Chelsea against Bayern Munich in the 2012 UEFA Champions League final left a last impact on him. His favorite player is Eden Hazard and favorite manager is Jose Mourinho, who gave him the most joyous days as a Blues supporter. He believes that Cristiano Ronaldo is unlucky to be born in Messi’s era and favors the Argentine in the G.O.A.T. debate.

Joshua also follows the Portuguese Primeira Liga and the Nigeria Professional Football League and loves to play football during his free time. Having attained a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Ibadan, he employs his problem-solving skills in crafting articles while doing extensive research to ensure each article is well thought out and crafted.

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