First Defeat for Klopp with Germany

Germany stumbled again under new manager Jürgen Klopp with a shocking 1-0 home defeat to Greece, while Portugal returned from Norway, led by their star Erling Haaland, to secure their second win under new coach Jorge Jesus. The Netherlands also recorded their first victory under Spanish manager Xavi Hernandez, winning in the second round of League A of the UEFA Nations League.

In Group 2, after squandering a chance to beat the Netherlands in their first match under Klopp by conceding a 1-1 equalizer in stoppage time instead of losing, Germany suffered a surprising home defeat to Greece—their first ever loss to the 2004 European champions in 11 meetings. Germany’s tally remained at one point in the group, which Greece topped after defeating hosts Serbia 2-1 in the opening round. The Netherlands finished second after the second round, having also beaten Serbia by the same scoreline.

Despite near-total dominance in the first half, the German side managed only one shot on target. In the second half, Bamby Konte and Joshua Kimmich attempted to break down the Greek defense, but their efforts posed little threat to goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis (50th and 53rd minutes). Klopp brought on Jonathan Burkardt and Florian Wirtz (65th minute) to bolster the attack.

The surprise came when substitute Dimitrios Kourbelis opened the scoring. Receiving the ball near the edge of the penalty area, he beat Felix Nmecha and fired a low shot into the right corner of goalkeeper Alexander Nübel (74th minute). Germany quickly pushed for an equalizer, with Serge Gnabry (76th minute), followed by Henning Berger and Anton Stach (84th minute). Gnabry nearly leveled the score with a shot from the edge of the box, but Tzolakis pushed it away. Vangelis Pavlidis responded with a strike that hit the crossbar just two minutes before the final whistle.

In the same group, in his first start, Mix Diskerhout handed new Dutch coach Xavi his first victory in his second match in charge of the “Oranje,” scoring a brace in a 2-1 win over Serbia in Belgrade. Diskerhout made his first start for the Netherlands after making his debut as a substitute for the injured Brian Brobbie in the 35th minute of the Germany match.

In Group 4, Portugal returned from Norway with a second win under new manager Jorge Jesus, securing a 2-1 victory despite veteran captain Cristiano Ronaldo remaining on the bench.