Nations League 2026/27 — Group A2, Matchday 1
📍 Johan Cruijff ArenA, Amsterdam | 🕐 8:45 PM CEST on Sept 24 (1:45 AM ICT, Friday Sept 25)
The Jürgen Klopp era with Germany has begun — and it began exactly the way people remember Klopp: full of energy, full of emotion, and dramatic until the very last seconds.
Leading from the 32nd minute through Felix Nmecha, playing with a patched-up squad battered by injuries, holding out for an entire second half under relentless Dutch pressure — Die Mannschaft were within touching distance of a win on their new coach’s debut. But in the second minute of stoppage time, Cody Gakpo — Klopp’s former Liverpool pupil — unleashed an unstoppable volley to seal a 1-1 draw.
A point away from home, against a Netherlands side that has also just changed coach (Xavi), is no disaster. But the manner of it — a win thrown away in stoppage time — hurts. And it showed that Klopp has an enormous amount of work ahead of him.
Key moments: from VAR to 90+2
A dream start, then VAR spoke. Germany began with exactly the “heavy metal” football the fans had been waiting for: high pressing, furious tempo. But with only 12 minutes on the clock, the whole Johan Cruijff ArenA was celebrating — Virgil van Dijk had headed home from a corner. VAR intervened, and the goal was chalked off: Brian Brobbey had fouled Marc-André ter Stegen while challenging for the ball. A let-off!
The injury nightmare. Before Germany could even catch their breath, they lost Jamal Musiala — in the warm-up. The Bayern star felt a pain in his thigh, and Klopp was forced to hand Nadiem Amiri a last-minute place in the starting XI. In the 23rd minute, Kai Havertz was caught by a challenge from Quinten Timber; he tried to play on but went down clutching the back of his thigh in the 30th minute and had to come off. His replacement, Younes Ebnoutalib — one of the newcomers in this squad — made his Germany debut in the most difficult circumstances imaginable.
The controversial opener. In the 32nd minute, with Brobbey lying on the ground injured (no contact involved), Germany played on. The ball fell to Felix Nmecha inside the box and the Dortmund midfielder finished neatly to open the scoring. The Dutch players protested furiously — they felt Germany should have kicked the ball out. The referee waved play on and the goal stood. Brobbey had to be substituted in the 35th minute (Mexx Meerdink came on), with his injury described in the media as game-ending.
Whatever the controversy, it was the first goal of the Klopp era — and fittingly, scored by another “Klopp-made” player from Dortmund.
The golden chance missed. In the 39th minute, a pass from Nathaniel Brown put Karim Adeyemi clean through, five metres from goal. Adeyemi skied it. The entire German bench held their heads. At 2-0 going into the break, the story might have been very different.
Second half: ter Stegen stands alone. Xavi’s Netherlands pushed forward. Ter Stegen — starting for Germany for the first time since June 2025 — was called into action again and again. He made a string of outstanding saves, even if a few risky passes nearly gifted the hosts a goal. Right here at the Johan Cruijff ArenA — the home of the club he now plays for (Ajax, on loan from Barcelona) — ter Stegen played like a true No. 1.
90+2: the final dagger. Serge Gnabry lost the ball on the right wing; substitute Ruben van Bommel pounced, drove forward and curled a perfect outside-of-the-boot cross into the box. Gakpo arrived at pace and volleyed it home. 1-1. Amsterdam erupted; Klopp stood frozen on the touchline.
Key match events
- Before kick-off: Musiala feels pain in his thigh during the warm-up and pulls out of the starting XI → Nadiem Amiri starts in his place.
- 12′: Van Dijk heads the ball into the German net — VAR disallows it (Brobbey’s foul on ter Stegen).
- 23′: Quinten Timber booked after his challenge on Havertz.
- 24′: Van Hecke booked (foul on Schade).
- 30′: Havertz limps off with a hamstring injury → Ebnoutalib makes his international debut.
- 32′: ⚽ Nmecha opens the scoring (0-1) while Brobbey is down injured — a controversial goal.
- 35′: Brobbey goes off injured, Meerdink comes on.
- 39′: Adeyemi misses a sitter from Brown’s pass.
- Second half: Netherlands dominate, ter Stegen makes save after save.
- 90+2′: ⚽ Gakpo volleys the equaliser (1-1) from Van Bommel’s cross.
Germany player ratings
On the blog’s 1–10 scale.
- ter Stegen — 7.5: Several saves that preserved the point, commanding in his box. Marked down for a few risky passes that nearly proved costly.
- Treu — 7: A first senior start in a squad full of debutants, and an assist for Nmecha’s goal. A debut to remember.
- Tah — 6: A few shaky moments, nearly conceded a penalty. Needs to be more assured.
- Schlotterbeck — 6.5: Solid enough in a makeshift back line.
- Brown — 7: Up and down the flank with real energy, the perfectly weighted pass for Adeyemi.
- Kimmich (C) — 6.5: Moved by Klopp into central midfield, kept the tempo well but created little.
- Nmecha — 7.5: Scored the first goal of the Klopp era, energetic all night.
- Amiri — 6.5: Thrown into the starting XI at the last minute, did nothing wrong.
- Adeyemi — 5.5: Great pace, but the 39th-minute miss is unforgivable at this level.
- Schade — 6: Ran hard, competed well, lacked sharpness in the final third.
- Havertz — 6: Gone before he could make any impression.
- Ebnoutalib — 6.5: A debut in the toughest of moments, with one shot that forced Verbruggen into a save.
- Gnabry — 5: His lost ball led to the equaliser. A night to forget.
German media ratings
German media use the 1–6 scale (the lower, the better). According to fussballdaten.de, the best German performers were:
- Grade 2: ter Stegen
- Grade 2.5: Nmecha, Treu, Tah, Schlotterbeck
- Grade 3: Kimmich, Schade, Brown, Führich, Ebnoutalib
- Grade 4: Amiri, Adeyemi
- Not rated: Havertz (off injured early); Gnabry, Stach, Engelhardt (too few minutes)
3 takeaways
1. The Klopp spirit is there, but the “football” isn’t yet.
Klopp himself admitted it after the game: “I was very, very pleased with many individual performances… But we can definitely play better football, that’s for sure.” Germany pressed hard and ran themselves into the ground — but when the Netherlands tightened their grip, Die Mannschaft could only hang on. The system isn’t oiled yet, the attacking patterns aren’t clear. That’s normal after exactly one game — but time is short.
2. A new defence means new risks.
Only one debutant started (Treu), but the whole back line felt experimental: Tah looked shaky, ter Stegen was making his first international start in 15 months. VAR saved one goal; luck doesn’t strike twice. Klopp needs to settle on his preferred back four before Greece.
3. Injuries are the biggest worry.
Musiala (thigh) and Havertz (hamstring) both underwent MRI scans on the night. Klopp was blunt: “They’re both having MRI scans, I hope we get the diagnosis tonight… They’ll probably miss the rest of this international break.” Losing his two most creative attackers at once ahead of the Greece game on Sept 27 is a real headache.
Post-match quotes
Jürgen Klopp (speaking to RTL):
“I’ve stood on the touchline over 1,000 times, so that felt completely natural. I’m very pleased with the passion the players showed. We made things hard for ourselves, we had to run and work so hard. I would have loved to win, but I can live with the point.”
He added in his post-match RTL interview:
“The patterns of play weren’t fully in place yet, so we needed a very good goalkeeper.”
Next up: Greece at home
Germany return to Augsburg to host Greece on Sunday, Sept 27 — kick-off 8:45 PM CEST (1:45 AM ICT Monday, full details in the preview). This is a game Klopp simply has to win — not just for the three points, but to get the first victory of the new era on the board and show the fans more than just “spirit”.
The biggest question right now: will Musiala and Havertz be back in time? And who carries the attack if both are out? The Greece preview will be on the blog in the next day or two.
Read more:
- Netherlands vs Germany: Klopp’s Debut Preview — trial by orange in Amsterdam
- Hà Lan 1-1 Đức: Ngày ra mắt của Klopp (bản tiếng Việt)