Overview

• Kickoff is 20:45 at Cologne’s RheinEnergieStadion, with free-TV coverage on RTL and streaming on RTL+, after Germany’s 0:2 defeat in Slovakia.
• Northern Ireland arrives off a 3:1 win over Luxembourg, and Germany targets a course correction in a qualifying campaign where group winners advance and playoffs remain a fallback.
• HSV’s 3:3 against Wolfsburg ended with a disputed stoppage-time equaliser that reignited debate over the Frauen-Bundesliga’s lack of VAR and goal-line technology; Bayern beat Leverkusen 2:0 before a record 57,762 crowd in Munich.
• St. Pauli’s U23 drew 2:2 at Eintracht Norderstedt but remain bottom of the Regionalliga after seven matches with two points.
• Handball setbacks included TuS Lintfort’s 28:38 loss to Füchse Berlin with a shoulder injury to Lynn Broders pending diagnosis, and SC DHfK Leipzig’s 24:25 home defeat to HSG Wetzlar after a brief medical-emergency stoppage.