Both teams entered the match with perfect records, though it was still early in the process. Germany had wins over the Faroe Islands (3-0) and Austria (2-1), while Ireland had beaten Kazakhstan away (1-2) in their only match. So most observers were expecting a competitive game.
What they got instead was a blowout. It started with a pair of first-half goals from winger Marco Reus (32', 40') and continued with second-half strikes from Mesut Özil (55' pen.) and Miroslav Klose (58'). Toni Kroos, who came on at the start of the second half, added a late brace (61', 83') to stretch the lead to 0-6 before Andy Keogh scored a consolation goal for the hosts in the second minute of stoppage time.
It is the most lopsided home defeat for Ireland in a competitive match (and not too far removed from their all-time worst loss, a 7-0 beating by Brazil in 1982).
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