Germany defeats Serbia 2-0 in Munich for first victory under Jürgen Klopp
Goals from Tom Bischof and Florian Wirtz led a reshuffled German team to a 2-0 victory over Serbia in Munich, giving manager Jürgen Klopp his first victory in three matches.
Tactical overhaul in Munich
Jürgen Klopp secured his first victory as Germany manager on Thursday evening as his team defeated Serbia 2-0 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Four days after suffering a 1-0 defeat against Greece, the 59-year-old manager fielded a heavily rotated lineup drawn from his expanded squad. Regular captain Joshua Kimmich and defender Jonathan Tah were omitted from the matchday squad to test younger options across the pitch. Serge Gnabry took the captain's armband in his 62nd international match, while 23-year-old goalkeeper Jonas Urbig made his senior debut. Urbig kept Germany's first clean sheet in seven matches after receiving pre-game text messages of encouragement from Bayern Munich teammates Manuel Neuer and Sven Ulreich.
The boys gave everything, it was super intensive. We worked fantastically against the ball and played unbelievably with it.
Control and first-half breakthrough
Germany established control from the opening minutes, deploying a 4-3-3 formation anchored by Aleksandar Pavlović, Tom Bischof, and Florian Wirtz. Center-back Malick Thiaw and Pavlović repeatedly bypassed Serbia's defensive block with diagonal passes to left-winger Derry Scherhant, who made his first start. Left-back Maximilian Mittelstädt registered Germany's first shot in the fifth minute, while Pavlović sent an eighth-minute effort just past the right post. Nick Woltemade missed an opportunity from Scherhant's cross, and defender Waldemar Anton saw a 17th-minute volley saved. The hosts recorded 13 attempts before breaking the deadlock on their 14th shot in the 39th minute. Bischof converted a rebound after Wirtz struck the post, scoring his first senior international goal in his second appearance.
Indescribable. The stadium was on fire. We were fully there from the start.
Second-half pressure and debuts
Wirtz assumed the captaincy after Gnabry was substituted at halftime and extended the lead to 2-0 in the 61st minute with a placed strike. Woltemade had missed a close-range chance from two meters moments earlier, while right-back Philipp Treu contained Serbia's Filip Kostić down the flank. Klopp introduced several young players throughout the second half, bringing on 20-year-old winger Said El Mala and later forward Jonathan Burkardt. Mika Baur came on to become the 1,000th player to appear for the German men's national team, while Bambasé Conté replaced Bischof.
- Maximilian Mittelstädt records Germany's first shot of the match
- Aleksandar Pavlović sends a shot from the edge of the penalty box narrowly wide
- Tom Bischof scores the opening goal on a rebound after Florian Wirtz hits the post
- Serge Gnabry is substituted at halftime, passing the captaincy to Florian Wirtz
- Florian Wirtz scores Germany's second goal
- Jonathan Burkardt enters as part of a triple substitution for Germany
Klopp football? You can see it. It was incredibly fun today. We all wanted to play football. Every single player left everything on the pitch, followed the match plan, and did almost everything right.
Group standings and Greece rematch
The victory in front of 68,121 spectators at the Allianz Arena revived Germany's campaign in the UEFA Nations League following a difficult opening run. Serbia remains at the bottom of the group with zero points after three straight losses. In the group's other match, Greece let a two-goal lead slip to draw 2-2 with the Netherlands, keeping the Greeks three points ahead of Germany in first place. Germany will travel to face Greece on Sunday in Athens for their fourth group fixture.
