Klopp’s Germany era starts with late draw against neighbours Netherlands

Felix Nmecha’s strike didn't prove to be enough for Germany as they were held by the Netherlands at the start of the UEFA Nations League campaign, with Jürgen Klopp’s first game in charge.

Despite the lively start from both sides, clear-cut chances were at a premium inside the first half-hour. The hosts thought they took the lead when Virgil van Dijk headed home from Tijjani Reijnders’ corner-kick, but the goal was chalked off after a VAR check as ex-RB Leipzig striker Brian Brobbey was adjudged to have fouled Marc-André ter Stegen.

Klopp faced a late change to his lineup after Jamal Musiala felt something during warm-up, and he had to make his first substitution in the 30th minute. Arsenal striker Kai Havertz was forced to withdraw after a challenge from Quinten Timber, Jurriën’s twin brother.

Younes Ebnoutalib came in his place, and the Eintracht Frankfurt man had the visitors’ first chance within seconds of entering the pitch. The debutant tested Bart Verbruggen from a difficult angle with a powerful shot.

A minute later, Germany took the lead in a controversial manner. While Brobbey was down injured and Netherlands players expecting play to be stopped, Joshua Kimmich played a diagonal pass to another debutant Philipp Treu. The SC Freiburg fullback tried to find Karim Adeyemi with a cutback, but the ball fell to the grateful Nmecha after Jan Paul van Hecke’s unsuccessful tackle.

The Borussia Dortmund midfielder scored Germany’s first goal under BVB legend Klopp. Adeyemi, who left the Black and Yellows to join FC Barcelona in the summer, should’ve doubled their lead with the next big chance, but he blasted it wide with a goal at his mercy after an unselfish play from Nathaniel Brown.

The hosts had a strong finish to the half, but Cody Gakpo failed to take advantage of ter Stegen’s misplaced pass from the best chance of Xavi Hernandez’s side. Their momentum continued after the restart as Germany struggled to build from the back.

With a rare sight of goal for Klopp’s men, Adeyemi once again made the wrong decision. After Havertz and Brobbey’s substitutions due to injuries, Borussia Dortmund’s new midfielder Joey Veerman was the first unforced change by either coach just before the hour mark.

Veerman was involved in a big chance right away as fellow substitute Mexx Meerdink came close to scoring from his corner-kick delivery. The debutant Meerdink then produced an even worse finish than Adeyemi’s first-half effort when he failed to hit the target from goalmouth.

Denzel Dumfries, who created the chance for the AZ Alkmaar striker, led the protest when Nmecha’s controversial goal stood, and he showed his frustration once again when Nadiem Amiri escaped with a yellow card after a strong challenge on the Real Madrid fullback.

Germany eased the pressure briefly before ter Stegen’s next save from Meerdink’s latest effort. Klopp brought on four players who didn’t take part in the World Cup, including the debutant Yannick Engelhardt and the fit-again Serge Gnabry.

Netherlands lost their momentum again after the 75th minute as a pitch intruder was responsible for the loudest cheer from the home fans. Xavi’s men relied too much on set-piece play as ter Stegen looked to keep a clean sheet after his decent save from a long-range effort from Ruben van Bommel.

However, the son of former Bayern Munich midfielder Mark produced a spectacular assist in injury-time as Gakpo leveled the score for the hosts. Netherlands even had one more chance to take all three points, but former Freiburg striker Guus Til failed to hit the target with a free header in the last chance of a hard-fought encounter.

Germany will host Greece in Augsburg before the second squad takes over for two more games in this international break.