Match Awards from Germany’s smooth 4-0 win against Luxembourg

A tiny break from club football begins with international break, as Germany continues to defend its position in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. Facing Luxembourg in Sinsheim, for the first time since 2006, the hosts were touted to have an easy game and so they did. A handball saw Dirk Carlson from Luxembourg sent off with a red. Playing with ten men did not help their cause — as they suffered a 4-0 defeat despite resorting to a highly defensive style. Here are the awards from Germany’s relatively smooth win.

Jersey Swap: Anthony Moris

It was genuinely an unfortunate night for all players of Luxembourg team — not only were they barely capable of keeping up, but also with just ten men, the team struggled badly defensively. Goalkeeper Anthony Moris deserves the Jersey Swap for somehow keeping the team together and attempting to organize the defense even in such dire circumstances.

Der Kaiser: David Raum

Raum finally registered his first ever goal for the national team, following a terrific free kick. His crosses from the left were impressive and well-placed. He pushed forward for his entire duration, until he was substituted for Nathaniel Brown. He also created a considerable amount of chances individually, and gave perhaps one of his best games with the team lately. He capitalized well on a frail and disjoint Luxembourg and overlapped well with Florian Wirtz. It still remains to be seen how well he can do against stronger sides, but the bare minimum of doing well against a weaker side has been accomplished.

Fußballgott: Aleksander Pavlović

Pavlović had a performance to watch tonight, as he proved his merit and certainly warrants more playing time with the national team henceforth. He was excellent under pressure and made crucial decisions. He managed to gain control of the midfield and kept a strong watch on the tempo of the game. A player like him with discipline and awareness is needed to keep things clean as the attacking players venture forward and attempt to make it into the final third — and he provided just that. A holding midfielder of his caliber deserves every start he can get with the national team.

Der Bomber: Serge Gnabry

Gnabry had a great game, and so did the rest of his attacking counterparts — Florian Wirtz, Nick Woltemade and Karim Adeyemi all looked solid after several disappointing performances. Gnabry’s linkup play was a key factor, for it enabled him to find multiple chances and so did he. He finally scored in the 48th minute, with a shot to the top corner, after several threats were denied. He also created spaces, intelligently handling opposition defense to do so. So as it turns out, Serge Gnabry’s resurgence was not limited to club, it has also found its way into his performances for country.

Meister of the Match: Joshua Kimmich

Captain Joshua Kimmich may not be capable of carrying the National Team forward to 2026 all alone, considering the general lack of quality in the team, but he surely is among the few keeping it from sinking. He had vital attacking contributions — scoring in the second half from a corner kick. Earlier in the first half, he also stepped in to take the penalty. In all sides — both attacking and defensive, Kimmich was the best player on the pitch, putting up an intense shift. His crosses were a standout in the game too and he hardly took a bad touch. As he surpassed Franz “der Kaiser” Beckenbauer in caps, with 104, he continues to do his best for country.

Germany was in need of a good performance and Luxembourg was the right squad for the moment.

The team spirit appeared to be much higher than the last international where the German were flat and the renewed energy helped power the team to a 4-0 victory. An early red card played a massive role in the outcome, but Germany likely would have rolled easily even without being a man-up for three quarters of the match.

Let’s dive into all of the details from the match on this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works — Postgame Show! This is what we have on tap:

A look at the starting XI as Julian Nagelsmann made some interesting selections.

A rundown of the scoring and substitutions.

Some final thoughts and takeaways on the match.

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