Germany vs. Serbia preview: Team news and predicted lineups
| Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images |
Jürgen Klopp's highly anticipated stint as Germany head coach hasn't exactly got off to the ideal start, with a respectable 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Amsterdam followed by a highly disappointing 0-1 defeat to Greece at home in Augsburg.
The pressure will now be on Germany to claim their first win of the Klopp era when they welcome Serbia to the Allianz Arena in Munich on Thursday for their third game of the 2026/27 UEFA Nations League.
Klopp is well aware of the seriousness of the situation, but the experienced head coach has no intention of panicking.
“I've lost many more games in my life than I wanted to. I can deal with it. After games like this, you just have to draw conclusions and get better,” he said after the defeat to Greece, adding:
“I prefer a bad start to a bad ending.”
Serbia have lost both of their opening games, going down 1-2 to Greece and the Netherlands, both at home. Most recently, a Max Meerdink brace condemned Veljko Paunović's side to defeat in Belgrade.
The two teams last met in 2019, playing out a 1-1 draw. Luka Jović opened the scoring in the first half before Leon Goretzka equalised for Germany.
Team news and predicted lineups:
As planned when the squad was announced, Germany have made a number of changes for the upcoming games against Serbia and Greece.
Only six players from the initial squad will remain with the team after the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands and 0-1 defeat to Greece: Finn Dahmen, Nico Schlotterbeck, Philipp Treu, Yannik Engelhardt, Bambasé Conté and Serge Gnabry.
Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Burkardt were originally part of the second squad but linked up with the team early, ahead of the defeat to Greece, after Kai Havertz and Jamal Musiala picked up injuries.
Among the key players who have returned home are first-choice goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, Jonathan Tah and captain Joshua Kimmich, while Jonas Urbig, David Raum and Aleksandar Pavlović are among those likely to come into the starting XI.
As for Serbia, there are no fresh injury concerns, with Strahinja Pavlović expected to shake off the knock that forced him off against the Netherlands.
