Burkardt remains unlucky, while the DFB team loses points

In Thessaloniki the German national team on the one hand displayed clear dominance in the first half, on the other hand Jonathan Burkardt remained the unlucky one despite a supposed lead‑goal, because his strike was cancelled after a VAR decision by Tom Bischof. The match eventually ended goalless, highlighting the discrepancy between control and finishing.

First Half: Dominance without a finish

Jürgen Klopp's side dominated the first half at will, but remained too harmless in front of goal. Despite numerous chances, no finish came, so the half ended without a goal.

Jonas Urbig had to intervene already after two minutes and with a superb reflex saved a header from Georgios Masouras; he received a rating of 2.5 for that. Philipp Treu, the third start‑eleven appearance in this international window, displayed a fundamentally solid performance, received a yellow card in the second half and missed a close‑range shot shortly before the end – rating 3. Malick Thiaw enriched the build‑up play with many vertical passes and led the clearance statistics, also with a rating of 2.5. Waldemar Anton defended confidently, delivered a long‑range shot as an offensive accent in the 20th minute and was shown a yellow card at the end of the first half for a hard foul, rating 3.

Individual Reviews: Performances and Ratings

David Raum replaced Maximilian Mittelstädt on the left back, attempted a creative free‑kick variation in the 25th minute, which was however saved by Konstantinos Tzolakis; his performance was rated 3. Tom Bischof remained unchanged in midfield, but overall showed less cutting power; he set up the supposed 1‑0 from Burkardt, but had to intervene after an unintended handball, causing the goal to be cancelled by VAR – rating 3. Aleksandar Pavlovic, praised by Klopp as the “engine room”, impressed with clever passes and also received a rating of 3.

Jonathan Burkardt, after two uneventful joker appearances, started from the beginning and quickly became the big unlucky one. First he blocked a dangerous header from Florian Wirtz (minute 20) and then saw his supposed first international goal not count after a handball by Tom Bischof via VAR intervention (minute 32). Apart from these actions he remained otherwise unremarkable and received a rating of 4.

Florian Wirtz led the DFB team in his 48th international match as captain for the first time, displayed technical class with a great solo (minute 8) and was committed in the counter‑press – rating 2.5. Lennart Karl replaced Serge Gnabry on the right wing, was often on the ball, but inconsistent and caused some unnecessary ball losses; he helped defensively against a Greek attack in the 50th minute – rating 3.5. Derry Scherhant brought constant unrest on the left wing, dribbled boldly, but his numerous crosses and shots usually lacked precision; an exception was the assist before Burkardt's cancelled strike – rating 2.5. Nick Woltemade came on in the 63rd minute for Burkardt, was immediately involved in a good attack, but remained without notable impact.

Outlook: Upcoming Matches and Table Position

After four matches the DFB team in Group B sits on five points in third place. The two group leaders qualify for the quarter‑finals in March. The next international match takes place on 13 November away against Serbia, followed by the final stage of the Nations League group phase on 16 November in Berlin against the Netherlands.

The discrepancy between the clear dominance in the first half and the lack of a finish, combined with Burkardt's misfortune, highlights a central shortcoming of the DFB team: the danger of not converting chances into goals. Without more efficiency in finishing, the point accumulation remains at risk, even though the overall control game stays solid.