M. Özil has scored a goal for Germany! Assist by T. Kroos.
Ciaran Clark gets on to the end of Glenn Whelan's free-kick, forcing Neuer into a good save.
Ozil gets the goal he deserves, making a decent run before flicking the ball over Forde. It's the Arsenal midfielder's 16th international goal on his 50th cap.
90'
Seamus Coleman makes a great run to break down the right, he plays a lovely ball in for Stokes, but poor control allows Neuer to get out quickly and narrow the angle.
88'
S. Sam enters the game and replaces T. Müller.
87'
Ozil links up with Lahm, but his shot just sneaks wide.
86'
M. Götze enters the game and replaces A. Schürrle.
Sweden now look set to make the playoffs as Zlatan Ibrahimovic gives them a 2-1 lead.
85'
Both Germany scorers taken off, but what a player to bring on. Mario Gotze, the €37 million Bayern Munich attacking midfielder.
83'
Ball bounces back off the woodwork as Jerome Boateng tries his luck from distance.
82'
M. Kruse enters the game and replaces S. Khedira.
Forde has been immense in this match. Denying Khedira after a good pull-back by Ozil.
80'
Ireland's corner comes to little, but the visitors are passing it around a bit better now with just 10 minutes remaining.
79'
Stokes with a neat back-heel to Coleman, which wins a corner at the other end.
Minute
Description
77'
Kroos opens up space on the right, and wins a corner by forcing Forde into another save.
76'
In the other Group C game, it's Sweden 1-1 Austria, thanks to Martin Olsson's second-half equaliser.
75'
Some good last ditch defending from Ireland, with Delaney again putting his body on the line to prevent Germany from getting through.
73'
Stokes forces Neuer to save at the other end. Coleman's rebound is kept out by Neuer again, before Jansen clears it off the line. Great bit of play from the Boys in Green.
72'
Forde adds another save to his highlight reel for this evening, spreading his body to deny Muller, who gets in at the back post.
70'
Jansen overhits his cross, allowing Forde to take his time over the goal kick. The long-ball sees Khedira battle with Stokes, with the Celtic man going down easily. No free-kick awarded.
69'
Marc Wilson slips, but does well to keep hold of the ball. Ireland pass back to Forde in an effort to go long again. Two very different styles here, and only one working to any effect.
66'
Muller goes close to breaking the offside trap, but his header would have went wide anyway.
64'
Once more, Germany seem happy to pass it around and wait for Ireland to leave an opening. Nine Irish outfielders behind the ball most of the time.
62'
A. Stokes gets yellow.
Wilson puts in a good cross, but neither Whelan nor Doyle can get on the end of it.
59'
Yet another excellent save from Forde, who needs to be at full-stretch to deny Schweinsteiger.
58'
A. Schürrle has scored a goal for Germany! Assist by T. Kroos.
Schurrle had been dangerous throughout, and he beats the offside trap to pick up a great ball from Kroos, and put it beyond Forde for Germany's second.
57'
S. Khedira gets yellow.
Kevin Doyle falls down under pressure from Khedira, resulting in the Real Madrid midfielder picking up a booking. Khedira will now miss Germany's game with Sweden on Tuesday.
56'
Schurrle breaks down the left, beating Coleman, but can't curl the ball around Forde's far post.
54'
After those few frights, Germany are trying to ensure the three points with a second goal, and are once again holding the ball up well to find an opening.
52'
Glenn Whelan finds Stokes with a lovely long pass. Neuer closes down, but mishits it. However Stokes is drive out wide, and chooses to shoot with McCarthy waiting in the middle. Luckily for the stranded Neuer, Stokes' shot was too high.
50'
Khedira picks out Lahm with a lovely ball. The Bayern full-back takes it down well, but Stephen Kelly is over quickly to tackle.
49'
Anthony Stokes does well to play in McCarthy, but the Everton midfielder doesn't have the legs to get past Khedira.
47'
Stokes forcing Neuer into his first proper save, winning Ireland's second corner.
The ball falls to McCarthy on the edge of the area, but James McCarthy can't direct his effort on target.
46'
Ireland showing greater urgency in the opening minute of the second-half than they did during the entire first-half, with Anthony Stokes going close.
45' +1
Long ball from Forde wins a free-kick in a dangerous area, but Ireland fail to capitalise. Gibson plays it short to Whelan, who gets the ball into the area. Clark heads it off the bar before Stokes takes an air-shot on the rebound.
45'
Great chance falls to Schweinsteiger after a poor clearance from Clark, but the midfielder's shot is a sliced one, and the hosts can't double their lead.
43'
This time it's Muller who gets a shot off, forcing Forde to get down to it, but it was a weak shot from the Bayern Munich attacker.
41'
Back in Cologne, David Forde is called into action by Schurrle once again, but the Chelsea wideman's strike is straight at the Millwall keeper.
40'
There's a lot of attention on Group H this evening where Ukraine have taken the lead against Poland, to move above England. The Three Lions are currently scoreless at home to Montenegro.
39'
The ball is passed back to Manuel Neuer, who has been a spectator for the first-half.
37'
Forde pulls off another great save to deny Muller, and tip the ball over the bar.
34'
Germany have held the ball for a couple of minutes, and when a gap appears, they go close to doubling their lead. However, Forde produces a fantastic reflex save to keep out Schurrle's header.
32'
Germany attacking down the right through Lahm once again, and wins the home side's ninth corner. They go short this time, and see Damien Delaney put in a good tackle to deny Shurrle.
31'
In the other Group C game, Martin Harnik has given Austria a 30th minute lead away to Sweden.
28'
Another corner cleared by Ireland, who have looked strong in the area, but not made an impact anywhere else.
27'
Clark doing a decent job deputising for Richard Dunne in defence, making plenty of last ditch clearances.
26'
Mistake by Wilson sees Germany open space in the Irish defence, but Schurrle's shot is deflected over.
25'
Shouts for a penalty as Schurrle goes down under pressure from Coleman, but Lahm's cross was too high anyway, giving Ireland a momentary breather.
23'
Germany win a series of corners, but Ireland defend well to clear the danger. However, once cleared, the ball just goes back to the German players to start the process again.
22'
Schurrle breaks down well down the left, and tries to put in a low cross, but it's cut out by Ireland captain Coleman.
21'
Cheeky ball over the top by Bastian Schweinsteiger is just too long for Thomas Muller, who breaks in behind the Irish defence.
20'
The travelling support are belting out 'The Fields of Athenry' to spur on the Boys in Green, who are keeping men behind the ball as Germany look to probe an opening.
16'
Germany seem content to pass it around and take their time after opening the scoring. However, a couple of poor passes in midfield give the ball back to Ireland, who haven't impressed when in possession.
14'
Ireland looking to counter quickly, but can't find a final ball as Germany defend high up the pitch.
12'
S. Khedira has scored a goal for Germany! Assist by P. Lahm.
Good tracking back by Whelan clears the danger up field, but only as far as Anthony Stokes, who plays Germany in with a poor pass. The Irish defence opened up as Lahm feeds Sami Khedira, whose deflected shot leaves Forde no chance.
10'
However, one thing Forde is good at is collecting the ball in the air, and he shows that quality to easily catch Toni Kroos's high free-kick.
9'
Under pressure, Marc Wilson passes back to David Forde, whose clearance is weak. Kicking has not been the Millwall stopper's strong point for Ireland, and he could come under difficult from Germany, who are pressing high up the pitch.
8'
The corner comes to nothing as Germany are awarded a free out for an infringement in the area.
7'
Great ball from Darron Gibson finds Anthony Stokes in the box. The Celtic striker tries to open up space to shoot, but Per Mertesacker defends well and closes the gap. The ball is barely cleared, and Kevin Doyle wins a corner with his low drive.
6'
Ozil playing deep as Germany try to pass it around the Irish area. Lahm drags the ball back to Ozil, whose curled effort goes past David Forde's post.
4'
The early match in Group C has finished 1-1 between the Faroe Islands and Kazakhstan, but neither team stood any chance of qualifying, so it has little impact on the overall standings.
2'
Germany already showing their quality with short, neat passing play. Holding the ball well to create an opening. The ball finds Marcell Jansen out wide, but his cross can only ripple the side netting.
1'
Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos get us underway in Cologne.
Kevin Doyle is playing wide on the left, with Anthony Stokes preferred up front.
Good evening and welcome to Goal's live coverage of Germany against the Republic of Ireland at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne. I'm Ronan Murphy, and I'll be keeping you informed throughout tonight's World Cup qualifier.
Joachim Low's Germany side will be looking for the win that guarantees their place in Brazil next summer, while Noel King is hoping to make a good impression in his first game as interim manager of the Boys in Green.
Germany's usual striking options of Miroslav Klose and Mario Gomez both miss tonight's game, and as a result Low has decided to implement Arsenal's Mesut Ozil as a false nine. Ozil is making his 50th appearance for his country tonight.
Republic of Ireland XI v Germany: Forde - Coleman, Delaney, Kelly, Clark - Whelan, Gibson - McCarthy, Wilson, Doyle - Stokes.
Germany XI v Ireland: Neuer - Lahm, Mertesacker, Boateng, Jansen - Schweinsteiger, Khedira - Muller, Kroos, Schurrle - &Ozil.
Noel King has switched things up from previous manager Giovanni Trapattoni's preferred 4-4-2 formation, deciding to implement a five-man midfield with returned exiles Darron Gibson and Anthony Stokes included in the line-up.
Seamus Coleman will captain the Boys in Green as he celebrates his 25th birthday. The full-back is one of three Everton players in the line-up, with James McCarthy and Darron Gibson manning the midfield.
Robbie Keane and Anthony Pilkington have been named on the Ireland bench, but neither will feature in Cologne. Ireland's most capped player has an ankle knock, but is expected to recover for Tuesday's match with Kazakhstan. However, Norwich City winger Pilkington will play no part in either game, and looks set to return to his club tomorrow.
The teams are in the tunnel preparing to come out onto the pitch in Cologne. In Torshavn, the Faroe Islands are currently drawing 1-1 with Kazakhstan in the early Group C kickoff.
Former Eurovision winner Johnny Logan is belting out the Irish national anthem - and living up to his "big in Germany" tag back home.
Elsewhere in Group C, the battle for second-place could be determined as Sweden host Austria in Solna.
That's the anthems over, and the game is due to begin. Philip Lahm starts at left-back for Germany, and captains the team on his 102nd appearance.
Ireland captain Seamus Coleman and midfielder Glenn Whelan are both carrying bookings, and could miss Tuesday's game with a yellow card this evening.
That's the last action of the half. Germany in control and could be well clear, but that free-kick in the last minute might have given Joachim Low a wake-up call, as the Boys in Green could have went in level.
Ireland have created little, while Germany have dominated play. However, David Forde has been impressive, and was only beaten by a wicked deflection.
Austria also go in ahead at half-time, leading Sweden 1-0 in Solna. As it stands, Austria will be second in the table, ahead of Sweden on goal difference.
In Group A, it's scoreless between Wales and Macedonia.
The teams return to the pitch, and neither manager has made any change at the break.
Full-time in Cologne. Germany dominated throughout and deserved the three points. If not for the heroics of David Forde, it easily could have been a much bigger win. Ireland had a few chances, but Anthony Stokes was wasteful despite getting into good positions.
Sweden held on to win 2-1 against Austria, ensuring they reach the playoffs. Ireland sit in fourth, three points adrift of Austria, although the Austrians will surely ensure a third-placed finish with a win away to the Faroe Islands on Tuesday.
That's all from Cologne as Ireland's World Cup exit is confirmed mathematically. The Boys in Green have a game to pick up their spirits on Tuesday as they take on Kazakhstan in Dublin. Thanks for reading.
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