Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena will stage an unusually fresh chapter in the Germany-Netherlands rivalry on Thursday, with Jürgen Klopp and Xavi Hernández both beginning their international coaching careers in the Nations League.
Klopp takes charge of Germany for the first time while Xavi leads the Netherlands into Group A2’s opening round. The two new managers have had little time to settle their squads, having first worked with their players on Monday.
Quick facts
- Germany face the Netherlands at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
- It is the opening matchday of Nations League Group A2.
- Serbia and Greece are the other teams in the group.
- Spanish referee Alejandro Hernández will oversee the match.
- Germany have won 18 of the nations’ 48 meetings; 18 ended level and the Netherlands won 12.
Klopp said he has a personal connection with more members of both squads than his Dutch counterpart. “I know more players personally than Xavi does, including Dutch players,” he said. “I don’t know whether that is an advantage, but it is a fact.”
Still, the German coach saw symmetry rather than separation in the two camps. “The good thing is that we are genuinely in identical situations,” Klopp said, pointing to the limited preparation time shared by both new regimes.
Germany’s first training camp under Klopp has already carried a different feel. During a session, the former club coach walked over to speak with reporters, an informal moment rarely associated with a Germany head coach.
Relaxed in his familiar cap, carrying the message “one of 83 million” in reference to Germany’s population, Klopp backed the quality and attitude of his new group. He described the players as outstanding and eager to work.
His message on responsibility was equally direct: if the players give everything, he will accept the blame for a defeat. That commitment will be tested immediately in Amsterdam, where one of European football’s most enduring international contests opens a new Nations League campaign.
