Klopp praises Germans after surprising half‑time in Nations League

On Sunday evening the German team in Greek Thessaloniki stood before the cameras of RTL, where head coach Jürgen Klopp, after a goalless 0‑0 draw, drew an extremely positive conclusion and emphasized his satisfaction. He said he was “very satisfied” because he knows where the team comes from.

One win, two draws and one loss characterize the first four matches of the Nations League for the Germans. Despite this not outstanding record, Jürgen Klopp drew an extremely positive conclusion.

“If you had told me a week ago that we could play such a first half, I wouldn’t have believed it, because I’ve never seen anything like that,” said the 59‑year‑old coach. He added that the boys had shown an incredible performance.

Half‑time in Thessaloniki impressed

In the first half in Thessaloniki the German side dominated three positions and allowed the 2‑0 against Serbia last Thursday to be reshaped almost at will. Only in the finishing phase the necessary precision was missing, for example with the particularly conspicuous Freiburg left‑winger Derry Scherhant.

Midfield in focus

Klopp highlighted the midfield in particular. It consisted of the number six Aleksandar Pavlović and Tom Bischof, both from FC Bayern, as well as the number ten Florian Wirtz. Wirtz described Klopp’s performance as “outstanding”.

Another misfortune hit the Germans when Jonathan Burkardt’s apparent 1‑0 was disallowed due to a preceding handball by Tom Bischof. Klopp said he could have let the decision stand, but did not want to draw additional attention to it.

In the next fourteen days the head coach wants to calmly analyse the four matches with two different squads. In November, matches are scheduled in Serbia on the 13th and at home against the Netherlands on the 16th, with essentially two wins needed for the quarter‑final.

Klopp emphasized that he will field a “normal” squad of twenty‑three or twenty‑four players and repeated his mantra: the door is wide open for everyone.