Germany beats Serbia 2-0 in Munich for Jürgen Klopp's first win

Klopp claims first victory in Munich

Germany defeated Serbia 2-0 at the Allianz Arena in Munich on Thursday in the third round of the UEFA Nations League. The result was the first victory for 59-year-old manager Jürgen Klopp in his third game in charge of the national team. Klopp had previously recorded a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam and a 1-0 home defeat against Greece in Augsburg. A crowd of 68,121 spectators watched Germany dominate possession and register 32 attempts on goal compared to a single shot for Serbia, who are managed by Veljko Paunovic. Klopp rotated his squad as part of a 44-player pool designated for the four-match international window, handing national team debuts to goalkeeper Jonas Urbig and Freiburg forward Derry Scherhant.

Wirtz orchestrates the German attack

Florian Wirtz was centrally involved in both German goals after early missed opportunities from Scherhant, Nick Woltemade, and captain Serge Gnabry. In the 39th minute, Wirtz navigated past Serbian defender Srdan Babic inside the penalty area and struck the left post with the outside of his left foot. Midfielder Tom Bischof collected the rebound to score Germany's opening goal on his second international appearance. Germany increased their lead in the 61st minute when Maximilian Mittelstädt delivered a low cross into the penalty area. Wirtz bypassed Babic with his first touch before finishing with his right foot past goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic into the right corner of the net. Klopp introduced debutant Said El Mala after the break as Germany preserved their clean sheet, conceding only one counter-attacking opportunity to Filip Kostic.

Klopp commented on the team's tactical approach after the match.

That's going in my archive. We'll make a video out of it now. That's how we want to play.

Standings in Group A2

The victory moved Germany to four points in UEFA Nations League Group A2, leaving them in third place. In the other group fixture on Thursday, Greece played to a 2-2 draw with the Netherlands in Thessaloniki. Greece took a first-half lead through goals from Fotis Ioannidis in the 23rd minute and Giorgos Masouras in stoppage time. Netherlands manager Xavi Hernández remained unbeaten after second-half goals from Virgil van Dijk in the 59th minute and substitute Tijjani Reijnders in the 89th minute leveled the match. Greece currently sits atop Group A2 with seven points, followed by the Netherlands on five, Germany on four, and Serbia at the bottom with zero points.

Results across League A

Germany will travel to Thessaloniki to face Greece on Sunday, while the Netherlands host Serbia in the fourth round of group fixtures. The top two teams from the group will qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals scheduled for March. Elsewhere in League A, Portugal earned a 4-2 away victory against Denmark in Copenhagen in Group A4. Portugal played without 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, who departed the team camp on Wednesday following a dispute with manager Jorge Jesus. Gonçalo Ramos, starting in place of Ronaldo, assisted João Cancelo's 13th-minute opener and scored in the 25th minute, while João Félix later sealed the win. Denmark scored through Mikkel Damsgaard in the 23rd minute and Rasmus Højlund in the 53rd minute before Portugal secured all three points to lead Group A4 with nine points.