Germany kept their hopes of reaching the Nations League quarter-finals alive with a convincing performance for long stretches against Serbia. Their 3-1 (2-0) win in Belgrade put a debutant in the spotlight and offered a glimpse of a quality Germany have lacked for years.
Back in the starting line-up, captain Joshua Kimmich showed how well the midfield works with him pulling the strings. A Bayern Munich summer signing, meanwhile, could find his place under threat. Here are the key takeaways from Friday evening.
Germany: Brajan Gruda impresses on his delayed debut
When Jürgen Klopp took charge of Germany in late summer, he suggested wing play would become a bigger part of their attack. His predecessor Julian Nagelsmann had often fielded just one nominal winger, such as Leroy Sane or Jamie Leweling, while Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz worked in the half-spaces. Klopp quickly signalled a different approach.
"Any team can make the game narrow; today's playmakers play on the wing," Klopp said at the time. His diagnosis reflected a problem that had made Germany's attack predictable in recent years. They repeatedly struggled to break down teams defending deep, most clearly in their World Cup exit against Paraguay. For all their midfield creativity, they lacked the pace and one-on-one ability to turn it into goals.
Klopp tried several options on the flanks in his first four matches. During the international break in early October, he fielded five different players: Bayern Munich's Lennart Karl, Köln's Said El Mala, Freiburg's Derry Scherhant, Brentford's Kevin Schade and Barcelona's Karim Adeyemi. Each showed promise, but none convinced completely.
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Against Serbia, Brajan Gruda finally made his long-awaited Germany debut. Klopp had planned to include the Leipzig player in his first squad, only for an abdominal muscle strain to scupper those plans at short notice. He had repeatedly stressed that Gruda, whom he called a "street footballer", had a major role in his plans and had been high on his watchlist for several years. "He's a fantastic player who loves to take people on and hasn't yet fulfilled his potential. He doesn't need to at his age, but he's shown an awful lot of positive signs," Klopp said.
On Friday evening, the 22-year-old showed why Klopp had spoken so highly of him. Gruda linked up repeatedly in Germany's passing moves, used his pace to launch quick attacks and took on Serbia's left-back Petar Sukacev one-on-one, at times leaving him overwhelmed. One driving run could have brought a first-half assist, but Kai Havertz headed woefully wide from Gruda's pinpoint cross.
After the break, the Leipzig player capped his display with a solo run of more than 50 metres. He finished from the edge of the penalty area with a clinical strike that gave the goalkeeper no chance. According to statistics website OPTA, nine of Gruda's 14 dribbles against Serbia were successful. Only once in the past ten years has a Germany player reached that figure: Jamal Musiala managed 13 successful dribbles at the 2022 World Cup.
Klopp praised Gruda's first senior appearance after the final whistle, calling the attacker's performance "incredible". He also spared a thought for the helpless Sukacev: "That left-back, he's a poor lad!"
Getty ImagesGermany: The new midfield also works with Joshua Kimmich
Germany had seemingly managed well without Joshua Kimmich in their previous two matches. Klopp left the captain out of the squad for both the first match against Serbia and the return fixture against Greece, with Aleksandar Pavlovic, Tom Bischof and Florian Wirtz forming the midfield trio in both games.
All three did a largely good job. Pavlovic took Kimmich's holding role, Bischof made only his second international appearance and Wirtz operated in the half-spaces. They combined brilliantly. Bischof's goal to make it 1-0 in the first match against Serbia came from a move involving the trio, with some help from the goalpost. Wirtz then scored to make it 2-0.
"The three of us had a good understanding," Bischof said. Wirtz had found it "very, very enjoyable" to play alongside Bischof. "He moves very, very cleverly into space and is very good on the ball." Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, meanwhile, felt "the connection between Pavlo and Tom worked brilliantly. They directed the game very well."
From the sidelines, Kimmich watched his two Bayern team-mates and Wirtz make their mark on Germany's play. Soon afterwards, familiar pundits questioned the 31-year-old's overall influence on the national team.
Klopp strongly criticised that before the return match against Serbia. "It's not so easy to be pleased about the performances of two young players (Pavlovic and Bischof; editor's note) – rightly so, because they simply played well – only for it to become a story about: 'What does that mean for Kimmich?'" the Germany coach explained, stressing: "Nothing! Because Jo Kimmich is a superb player. It means nothing!"
On Friday evening in Belgrade, Kimmich showed his quality and how important he can still be for Germany. The Bayern Munich player had the most touches and played the most passes of anyone involved, as usual. He immediately resumed his role as the hub of Germany's play, with almost every dangerous attack going through him. The midfield works with the captain, too.
Getty ImagesGermany: The battle for the left-back spot is wide open
Jürgen Klopp appears to have settled on Phillip Treu as his first-choice right-back. The Freiburg player has started four of the five Nations League matches and been thoroughly solid. On the left, the race is more open than it has been for a long time.
Three options are available to the Germany coach. Nathaniel Brown initially looked the clear favourite, perhaps partly because of his summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt to Bayern Munich. David Raum (RB Leipzig) and Maximilian Mittelstädt (VfB Stuttgart) had to take a back seat for the opening two matches against the Netherlands and Greece. Brown got the nod.
Since then, Mittelstädt has appeared to move ahead. He started against Serbia for the second match in a row and, for the second match in a row, the 29-year-old played really well. After assisting Florian Wirtz in the first match against Serbia, Mittelstädt made another contribution on Friday.
Immediately before the opening goal, he won a corner with a determined run forward, then delivered it into the penalty area himself. He found Kai Havertz, whose rather poorly placed header struck Serbia's Srdan Babic and deflected into his own goal, leaving the goalkeeper no chance. Mittelstädt also contributed to many of Germany's good attacks, repeatedly threatened with crosses into the opposition box and kept things secure at the back.
For now, the Stuttgart player appears to have claimed the left-back spot in the back four. If Mittelstädt maintains this level, Klopp will struggle to find a case for bringing Brown or Raum back.
IMAGOGermany: The current Nations League table
Position | Team | Played | W | D | L | Goals | Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Netherlands | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 14:5 | +9 | 11 |
2 | Greece | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5:10 | -5 | 8 |
3 | Germany | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6:3 | +3 | 8 |
4 | Serbia | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1:8 | -7 | 0 |