Germany Women 5- 0 Slovenia Women: DFB-Frauen open Women’s World Cup qualifiers in style

Germany started their 2027 Women’s World Cup qualification campaign with a win over Slovenia in their first game in Dresden since 1998.

Despite the huge gap between the two national teams, Slovenia were adventurous at the start of the game. However, that meant their structure allowed Christian Wück’s side to create clear-cut chances with ease.

A minute after Zala Meršnik’s first save of the game from Shekiera Martinez’s powerful hit from a tight angle, Vivien Endemann puts the hosts ahead with the first goal of the UEFA qualification round for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

The captain Giulia Gwinn and the lively Martinez were then denied by offside calls. There were signs of another huge scoreline between the teams based on Germany’s total dominance since opening the score.

Germany beat Slovenia 13-0 away from home during the 2015 World Cup qualifying campaign. Gwinn and Martinez came close once again inside the first 20 minutes after Elisa Senß doubled their lead with a measured finish inside a crowded box. Endemann was instrumental in both goals, but she missed a one-on-one chance in the midpoint of the half.

With the vast competition for a starting role as a striker, Martinez tried her best to make a good impression as she nearly scored the goal her performance deserved with a long-range curler. Slovenia managed to reduce the danger in the final half-hour of the half, and they even had chances in the final five minutes.

Ann-Katrin Berger denied Zara Kramžar with Slovenia’s best chance after they spent the majority of the first-half inside their half. Nonetheless, Wück made triple substitutions with one eye on Saturday’s tricky fixture against Norway.

And, once again, they scored two quickfire goals at the start of the second-half. Linda Dallmann scored her 15th goal for Germany after a superb through pass by Sjoeke Nüsken three minutes after the restart.

The experienced midfielder was millimeters away from a solo strike moments later before a debutant joined the scoresheet. Larissa Mühlhaus was a late call to the side after Selina Cerci’s injury, but she only needed seven minutes to score on her debut.

The Werder Bremen striker found the net with a close-range volley following Marintez’s deflected effort. Despite lacking the cutting edge in front of goal, Martinez also left a great impression on her first start before leaving her place for fellow WSL striker Lea Schüller.

Manchester United’s January signing made it five immediately with a smart finish after Nüsken and Endemann combined well with a quickly-taken free-kick. A few minutes later, Schüller returned the favor for Endemann, but the Wolfsburg striker was wrongly adjudged offside with no VAR in action.

Slovenia had their moments at the other end, although their best chance did come from a near own-goal from Rebecca Knaak. Meanwhile, Nüsken continued her excellent second-half showing when she fashioned the next chance from outside the box.

There was another questionable decision by one of the assistant referees when Schüller’s timely header was nullified for an offside call. Germany could’ve reached double digits with their strong performance, but it was still a great response after losing the Nations League final to Spain at the end of 2025. They have also extended their impressive record against Slovenia to 32-0.

Germany will continue their campaign away at 1995 champions Norway on Saturday. Slovenia, who are the lowest-ranked team in the group, host Austria in the other matchday game from group A4.