Germany arrive in the Netherlands with Jürgen Klopp beginning a new international chapter, and the opening night of the Nations League is being treated less as a promise of silverware than as a first measure of recovery.
Klopp’s first test on the Germany bench
Klopp takes charge of Germany for the first time on Thursday away to the Netherlands, having replaced Julian Nagelsmann in July. Xavi Hernández will make his own debut as Netherlands coach, giving the fixture added weight at the start of the new Nations League campaign.
The former Liverpool manager would not attach trophy guarantees to his appointment. “I do not want to make promises,” he said, stressing instead that Germany will try to improve and that the immediate task is to show evidence of that progress.
His central demand is for the squad to reproduce their club standards in international football. Klopp said the group are seeking the formula to succeed together and insisted the players remain deeply invested in representing Germany.
“The national team matters enormously to them; it means everything,” Klopp said. “We need to move forward, and the boys are ready to do that.”
A schedule across northern and southern Europe
- Germany open their Nations League programme in the Netherlands on Thursday, with Klopp and Hernández both entering their first match in charge.
- The Germans then return home to host Greece on Sunday.
- Serbia visit Germany on 1 October.
- Three days later, Klopp’s side travel to Greece.
Klopp has chosen Marc-André ter Stegen as his first-choice goalkeeper. Ter Stegen is currently at Ajax on loan from Barcelona.
Repairing a damaged tournament record
The assignment comes after a difficult stretch for Germany at major finals. They exited in the group phase at both the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the 2022 tournament in Qatar, before their 2026 World Cup ended in the round of 32 with a penalty-shootout defeat to Paraguay.
For Klopp, the Netherlands match is therefore not the moment for grand declarations. It is the first stop in a short autumn itinerary, and the first opportunity to establish whether a side that has often looked uncertain in tournament football can begin to carry its club form into the national shirt.
