Jurgen Klopp missed out on his first win as Germany manager with Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo scoring the stoppage-time volley which denied him.
It was a fine finish from Gakpo and an equally exquisite cross from Ruben van Bommel after Serge Gnabry had given away the ball in the build-up. That ensured the Netherlands, now managed by Barcelona and Spain legend Xavi, avoided losing in Amsterdam.
A draw was the deserved result at the end of what turned into a nasty Nations League clash. The tackles were flying in, though there were two apparent muscular injuries which will have a pair of Premier League managers concerned. Kai Havertz of Arsenal and Brian Brobbey of Sunderland – both of whom have started every league game for their clubs this season – needed substituting. It was while the latter was down injured that Germany controversially scored their opener.
While in charge of Liverpool, Klopp used to find internationals stressful to watch for the very reason of injuries, and so he will have empathy for Mikel Arteta and Regis Le Bris now.
Here is what we learned from this showdown between these two heavyweights.
Jurgen Klopp was denied victory in his first match as head coach of the German national team
His former Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo equalised late on as the Dutch earned a 1-1 draw
TWO PREM STRIKERS INJURED
Arsenal and Sunderland still have time – more than two weeks until their next Premier League fixtures with Leeds and Brighton respectively – but the sight of their strikers having to be substituted here will have sparked immediate fears back in England as one followed after the other.
First, Havertz had to be substituted after 30 minutes. He had been on the receiving end of an ugly foul by Quinten Timber – on another day, VAR might have punished the midfielder whose brother, Jurrien, plays for Arsenal – but that did not seem to be the reason for Havertz’s withdrawal.
It was a few minutes after Timber’s challenge that Havertz dropped down, lifting up his shorts to show his strapped left thigh which appeared to be the source of his discomfort.
Then, Brobbey likewise needed substituting after 35 minutes, with the Sunderland striker grabbing his right hamstring and immediately asking to be replaced.
Arsenal forward Kai Havertz was forced off with an apparent thigh problem in the first half
Brian Brobbey gave Sunderland cause for concern after suffering a hamstring injury
DUTCH ANGER AT GERMAN OPENER MISPLACED
It was while Brobbey was down injured that Germany scored their first goal of the Klopp era – and it left the Netherlands incandescent at their opponents for not kicking the ball out of play.
Nadiem Amiri thought about it. The Germany midfielder had possession in the final third but rather than roll it away for a throw-in, he passed to his captain, Joshua Kimmich, to see what he wanted to do. Kimmich played on and from that very attack, Felix Nmecha scored to make it 1-0.
Denzel Dumfries took the greatest exception to what he perceived as a lack of sportsmanship, chasing the Germany players as they ran to the corner flag to celebrate.
Yet it was a perfectly legal opener despite the Netherlands’ complaints. Xavi’s main gripe with this goal should be how his side left Germany’s right wing entirely empty.
Felix Nmecha scored Germany’s goal after they continued to play while Brobbey was down
The Netherlands were furious with Germany over what they viewed as a lack of sportsmanship
VAR SAVES KLOPP AND DENIES XAVI
When Klopp departed Liverpool in May 2024, he used his final pre-match press conference to tell us what he really thought of video assistant referees meddling in matches. ‘I would vote for scrapping VAR,’ he said before beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 in an Anfield farewell.
Yet that very technology saved Klopp here, some 858 days on from the last time he stood on a touchline as a manager. Good job, too, because Germany’s defending for the set-piece from which the Netherlands thought they had opened the scoring was rather embarrassing.
It was 0-0 at the time and came from a corner taken by Tijjani Reijnders. If anyone should know how dangerous Virgil van Dijk is in the air, it is Klopp, and yet Liverpool’s central defender was uncontested. Germany were prioritising zonal marking inside their six-yard box. They placed nobody on the 6ft 5in bloke who scored a fair few headers under Klopp at Liverpool. Van Dijk just drifted forwards, headed in, and celebrated.
However, VAR, desperate to get involved, sent the referee to his pitch-side monitor because it was thought Brobbey was blocking Marc-Andre Ter Stegen. The goal was disallowed, and the next time the Netherlands had a corner, Van Dijk found himself being man-marked.
Virgl van Dijk had been denied the first goal of the match when Brobbey was adjudged by VAR to have interfered with Marc-Andre Ter Stegen from an offside position
A NEW ERA UNDER KLOPP
Unlike other managers, Klopp picked 44 players for Germany’s four Nations League fixtures, with half involved versus the Netherlands and Greece this week and the other half reserved for Serbia and Greece next week. Only goalkeeper Finn Dahmen of Augsburg is in both camps.
It smacked of a desire to identify new, fresh, hungry talents. Both squads for this international break carried an average age between 24 and 25, and included 16 uncapped players, and it was in the spirit of giving opportunities that Philipp Treu won his first cap for Germany as a starter.
Right back has been a priority position for Klopp, who would rather not use Kimmich there like his predecessor, Julian Nagelsmann. Treu is a 25-year-old for Freiburg and largely held his own as the Netherlands pushed for their second-half leveller until the bitter end.
Germany relied on a series of saves from Ter Stegen while Mexx Meerdink, who replaced Brobbey, should have equalised when he missed the gaping goal. In Meerdink’s defence, he was stretching to meet the ball when it was blasted into the six-yard box.
Gakpo eventually ensured this ended in a draw after Van Bommel’s classy cross with the outside of his boot, denying Klopp but giving Xavi cause to celebrate.
