Julian Nagelsmann is determined for his Germany side to go through their World Cup qualifiers with “dominance”.

Germany begin their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup against Slovakia in Bratislava on Thursday.

Following their global triumph in 2014, Germany have failed to progress past the group stage at each of the last two editions of the World Cup.

Germany reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2024 under the guidance of Nagelsmann, before losing to eventual champions Spain, and finished fourth in the Nations League in June.

Group A in Europe’s qualifiers also features Northern Ireland and Luxembourg, and Nagelsmann wants to set his standards early.

“We want to go through the games [qualifiers] with dominance,” Nagelsmann said.

WE’RE BACK! The road to the @FIFAWorldCup begins in September and here is our squad to get things started! #DFB #GermanFootball #GermanMNT pic.twitter.com/8eOgZfWp9s

— German Football (@DFB_Team_EN) August 27, 2025

“That does not mean winning 5-0 every game, but we want to play these games so as not to leave any doubt during the game.

“The players and everyone should feel that there were no weak phases. A 1-0 can also be dominant.

“I want to see this full conviction. Not to say ‘we narrowly qualified to the World Cup, and now we can start’ because then it will be too late.”

Germany face Slovakia on Thursday in the first match between the two countries since 2016, when they won 3-0 in the last 16 of Euro 2016. Nagelsmann’s side will then host Northern Ireland on Sunday.