Mueller hails 'new era' as Germany extends streak

Thomas Mueller said that Germany has begun a new era under Hansi Flick after his side finished its World Cup qualification campaign on a high with a 4-1 win over Armenia on Sunday.

"It's a new era for us since the change of coach, and we've been doing a lot of good work," Mueller told RTL.

Germany has hit form since Flick succeeded Joachim Loew earlier this year, scoring 31 goals in seven successive wins following a disappointing showing at the European Championships.

Having secured qualification in October for next year's tournament in Qatar, Sunday's victory saw Germany finish nine points clear at the top of Group J.

"We have to say that there weren't any huge teams in our group, but we have done the job and we can go into next year on a high now," said Mueller.

Chelsea's Kai Havertz scored an elegant 15th-minute opener for Germany, flicking in a cross from Jonas Hofmann with the outside of his left boot.

Despite enjoying almost 80 percent possession in the first half hour, Germany was starved of space and struggled to create clear-cut chances before the break.

It needed a penalty to double its lead on the stroke of halftime, with Ilkay Gundogan converting after a foul on Florian Neuhaus in the box.

Gundogan got a cheap second goal early in the second half when Armenia goalkeeper Stanislav Buchnev fumbled his soft shot from outside the box.

The host pulled a goal back to raucous celebrations 10 minutes later, Henrikh Mkhitaryan scoring from the spot after Neuhaus brought down David Terteyan.

But Germany remained in complete control, and Hofmann restored its three-goal lead just five minutes later with a smart finish into the bottom corner.

North Macedonia remains in contention to reach a World Cup for the first time after defeating Iceland 3-1 to secure a spot in the playoffs. Eljif Elmas scored twice for his team, which will be unseeded.

Romania beat Liechtenstein 2-0 but missed the playoffs because of North Macedonia's win.

Agencies