Serbia vs. Germany preview: Team news and predicted lineups
| Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images |
Germany will be looking to put themselves in the strongest possible position ahead of a potential Group A2 decider against the Netherlands next week when they travel to Belgrade to face Serbia on Friday at 20:45 in their penultimate 2026/27 UEFA Nations League group-stage fixture.
The two teams met last month, with Germany taking a 2-0 win at home thanks to goals from Tom Bischof and Florian Wirtz.
That victory remains Germany's only win under Jürgen Klopp, with Die Nationalmannschaft currently sitting third in Group A2 on five points, behind the Netherlands and Greece on eight points and ahead of bottom-placed Serbia, who have yet to pick up a point.
Last month, Serbia were ordered to play the upcoming game against Germany behind closed doors after their fans engaged in racist and discriminatory behaviour during matches against Greece and the Netherlands.
However, Friday's game at the Rajko Mitić Stadium in Belgrade will not be played entirely without spectators.
As the Serbian Football Association confirmed to DPA upon request, a clause in UEFA regulations will allow children under the age of 15 to attend the match, provided they are accompanied by teachers or coaches, with around 5,000 expected to be in attendance.
After calling up a total of 44 players for his first four games as Germany coach, Klopp has named a more streamlined 24-man squad this time around. Borussia Mönchengladbach's Wael Mohya, VfB Stuttgart's Finn Jeltsch and RB Leipzig's Brajan Gruda could potentially make their Germany debuts.
Klopp also notably opted to bring Werder Bremen's Niclas Füllkrug back into the squad, with the West Ham loanee currently topping the Bundesliga scoring charts with nine league goals.
Team news and predicted lineups:
Saša Lukić and Nemanja Maksimović are both suspended for Serbia, while Aleksandar Stanković, Andrej Ilić, Strahinja Pavlović and Adem Avdić are set to miss out through injury.
Germany, meanwhile, will be without Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Waldemar Anton, Assan Ouédraogo and Angelo Stiller due to injuries.
Said El Mala sat out Germany's training session on Tuesday, but his absence is likely to have been part of a workload-management programme, with the 1. FC Köln star is expected to be fit for the match.
