Vocabulary test: How Jürgen Klopp gauges performance in the wild debut
Jürgen Klopp emphasized after the 1-1 against the Netherlands that the performance shown was more important than the result, and rejected congratulations for the draw. He tries to push the result into the background while putting the learning curve for his team at the forefront. Vocabulary test so illustrates this approach.
Performance focus instead of result
The new national coach placed the jersey of the Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk as a souvenir behind his black chair and emphasized that learning curves were even more important. “The intensity, the willingness, the passion” particularly appealed to him, he said after the match. With this he sent a clear signal that the quality of the performance is paramount.
After the early opening goal by Felix Nmecha a win could still have been possible, but Joshua Kimmich spoke of a felt defeat after Cody Gakpo, a former Liverpool pupil of Klopp, scored the equaliser. For Klopp the approach and the understanding of the game at the Johan Cruyff Arena counted more than the raw result.
“Much more important for me, of course, than somehow trying to get a 1-0 over time, are all the other information we have received. That’s what we will work with now,” said the 59‑year‑old coach and announced an intensive analysis of the wild duel against the Oranje team. He criticised the two‑day preparation and noted: “We could only scratch the surface.”
Klopp leaves Liverpool star Florian Wirtz out against the Netherlands
Klopp compared learning football tactics to studying a foreign language: “The processes cannot yet be natural. They are learned. And like anyone learning vocabulary, there are moments when you only know something briefly and have to look it up again later.” This analogy underlines his view that the team still has a lot to learn.
He especially praised the three debutants: Philipp Treu delivered an extraordinary performance as a right full‑back over 90 minutes, Yannick Engelhardt impressed as a joker, and Younes Ebnoutalib was highlighted as a possible Havertz replacement. Klopp described Treu’s performance as “extraordinary” and saw it as hope that Joshua Kimmich can remain in the centre in the future.
Injuries and outlook
An early exit for Jamal Musiala even before kickoff and a withdrawal for Kai Havertz after 30 minutes were further examined by MRI, making further appearances in the remaining three matches unlikely. Should Havertz miss out, Jonathan Burkardt or Nick Woltemade could step in, although they are only expected to join the second squad next week.
Klopp launches aggressive pressing against the Netherlands in Amsterdam
Klopp concluded that the biggest risk would be to play the best game together and then appear worse than everyone else. Instead, he sees plenty of room for improvement and plans to use the information gained for the upcoming fixtures.