Jürgen Klopp suffers first Germany defeat despite dominant performance against Greece

Full-time: Germany 0-1 GreeceAnd that’s it! After dominating a first half in which they created several useful chances, Jürgen Klopp’s Germany could not keep that momentum going in the second half, and eventually slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Augsburg. Minutes after an error by Kimmich let in Ioannidis, who proceeded to miss an absolute sitter, Greece took the lead through Kourbelis’ deflected effort. The Greeks subsequently defended that advantage stoutly, handing Klopp his first loss as coach of Die Nationalelf. Greece remain top of Group 2 in League A, while the Germans sit third.

Klopp reacts immediatelyThe Germany coach wastes no time in responding to that goal, bringing on Gnabry for Adeyemi.

Greece take the lead!They had threatened to score a few minutes ago, and they’ve done it for real now. Kourbelis’ effort takes a wicked deflection off Kimmich and spins into the bottom-left corner of Nübel’s net! The crowd in Augsburg can’t quite believe it.

Half-time: Germany 0-0 GreeceThe whistle goes on an intriguing first half in Augsburg. Germany took some time to get into the match but in the last 20 minutes they created some viable opportunities, notably through Ebnoutalib and Adeyemi. Greece, meanwhile, have defended robustly and have looked dangerous on the break. All of this augurs well for an entertaining second period!

Five mins to go till the breakCan Nmecha and Co. find a way through this resilient Greek defence before half-time?

Klopp animated on the touchlineThe new head coach has cut a lively figure in Germany’s technical area thus far, constantly shouting instructions to his players.

Adeyemi again!Adeyemi makes space with a skilful shuffle on the edge of the box, before hitting an an effort goalwards that Tzolakis parries away to the right!

Germany have had the better of the opening exchanges……but Greece look dangerous on the counter, so the hosts’ rearguard will have to remain alert.

About 15 mins to kick-off!Can Klopp’s new-look Germany get back to winning ways on home soil? We’ll find out soon!

More on that Greek sideThe Greek starting XI features some familiar faces in the shape of Borussia Dortmund star Karetsas, as well as other former Bundesliga players such as Retsos, Mavropanos and Tzolis.

More on that Germany line-upAs Klopp had stated pre-match, Nübel replaces ter Stegen in goal. Elsewhere, the new coach hands an international debut to Hoffenheim’s Conté and a second cap to Eintracht’s Ebnoutalib, while Stuttgart’s Vagnoman comes in at right-back

Which kit will Germany wear?After modelling Adidas’ final Die Nationalelf kit against the Netherlands last time out, Germany are set to return to their white 2026 FIFA World Cup home jersey for the clash against Greece.

More debuts to come? Jürgen Klopp handed first senior international appearances to Philipp Treu, Younes Ebnoutalib and Yannik Engelhardt in Amsterdam. Could another newcomer follow tonight? Augsburg’s Hennes Behrens, Freiburg’s Max Rosenfelder and Hoffenheim’s Bambasé Conté are still awaiting their first caps.

Germany line-up vote resultThe result is officially in! Here is the XI users of the official Bundesliga app think Jürgen Klopp should pick against greece…

Nico Schlotterbeck to miss Greece testAccording to the official squad list published by UEFA, Jürgen Klopp has not included Borussia Dortmund central defender Nico Schlotterbeck in his matchday squad to face Greece, which – according to UEFA guidelines – can include no more than 23 players. Klopp’s squad, however, consists of 24 players, meaning Schlotterbeck – like Bambasé Conté against the Netherlands – will miss out.

Jonathan Tah on playing under Klopp“Everyone has their own approach. What speaks for Klopp is his experience and the mix of passion, fun and that absolute will to win. After the initial meeting, I think everyone thought: okay, we’re going to walk through fire together as a team.”

Adeyemi ‘has made an outstanding impression’In the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, Klopp was reminded of a big chance missed in the second half by Karim Adeyemi. On the Barcelona winger, the head coach said: “The Karim I’ve been able to get to know here is a wonderful guy […] He has made an outstanding impression.” On his missed chance, he added: “Dealing with that – missing a chance that he normally puts away – that’s the big challenge in a footballer’s life. We’re working on making sure he stays in the game even after something like that. He’s still a young lad – and that’s what we’re working on. I like the whole package he offers.”

Klopp on the reintroduction of standing areasIn the game against Greece, standing areas will be reintroduced for the first time in 25 years for a game involving the senior Germany men’s national team. Klopp was delighted with this decision, saying: “The atmosphere in a stadium has a dramatic impact on performance. If the right people are standing, it’s outstanding and the influence is huge. We’re aware that we have to deliver first. But I’m very happy that standing areas are back.”

Klopp full of praise for GreeceOn Germany’s upcoming opponents, the 59-year-old admitted: “[Greece] have many good players. It’s a very interesting generation. We respect Greece a lot and we’ll have to work hard to win.” In terms of Greece’s biggest strengths, Klopp joked: “I hope we don’t see any of them,” before adding: “We want to play in a way that their talent doesn’t become visible.”

Early team newsAfter confirming that many of his players who either didn’t feature or made only brief cameo appearances against the Netherlands would play a bigger role against Greece, Klopp revealed that “Alexander Nübel will play,” but made it clear that he was “very satisfied with [Marc-André ter Stegen’s] performance”. He also explained that Florian Wirtz – who was called up late following the injuries to Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz – is unlikely to start, saying “that would really be a stretch.”

Jürgen Klopp turns attentions towards Greece gameSpeaking in Germany’s press conference on Saturday, the national team head coach was keen not to dwell on the result against the Netherlands, instead telling the press: “We now have to adapt to the new opponents. We need to build on what worked well. That’s what we’ll try to do.”

Augsburg duo on familiar groundSunday’s fixture has added significance for Finn Dahmen and Hennes Behrens. Their joint call-ups marked the first time Augsburg had two players named in a Germany squad simultaneously. Rather fittingly, the clash against Greece is set to take place at Augsburg’s WWK Arena.

Wirtz and Burkardt replace injured starsBayern Munich playmaker Jamal Musiala and former Bayer Leverkusen attacker Kai Havertz sustained injuries ahead of and during Germany’s UEFA Nations League clash against the Netherlands. As a result, Eintracht Frankfurt striker Jonathan Burkardt and Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz have been drafted into Jürgen Klopp’s squad for the clash with Greece on Sunday.

Germany held in AmsterdamJürgen Klopp appeared to be on course for a winning debut as Germany coach following Felix Nmecha’s first-half opener against the Netherlands. However, his side were pegged back by a stoppage-time equaliser from Cody Gakpo as the hosts grabbed a 1-1 draw.

Greece early frontrunnersGreece come into this match at the top of Group A2 after coming from behind to beat Serbia 2-1 in Belgrade on Thursday, thanks to Tasos Douvikas’ winner in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

The venueAugsburg’s WWK Arena provides the stage for Sunday’s encounter. Opened in 2009, the home of Augsburg holds 30,660 spectators for Bundesliga matches. Germany have played here just once before, losing 3-1 to Slovakia in a rain-soaked friendly in May 2016. Current captain Joshua Kimmich and goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen both featured for Die Nationalelf that day.

Familiar faces in the Greece squadThere are a couple of familiar faces in the Greek squad, with the likes of Konstantinos Koulierakis (ex-Wolfsburg) and Panagiotis Retsos (ex-Bayer Leverkusen) being part of the team, but certainly the biggest name is Borussia Dortmund’s new signing Konstantinos Karetsas, who is fit again after his recent health scare.

Previous meetingThe last time these two sides met was a friendly in June 2024, shortly before Germany’s home European Championship. On the night, Greece took a first-half lead, but Kai Havertz equalised early in the second half before Pascal Groß scored a late winner. The last competitive meeting took place in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals, where Germany won 4-2.

Head-to-headGermany and Greece have faced each other a total of 10 times, including Greece’s meetings with West Germany. In that time, Germany have never lost, winning seven and drawing three. They have also outscored their opponents by 23 goals to 10.