Klopp earns first Germany win as they beat Serbia 2-0

UEFA Nations League: Jurgen Klopp gets first win as Germany manager with 2-0 victory over Serbia

Munich, October 2

The victory ended Klopp's wait for a win in his first three matches in charge and lifted Germany's hopes of retaining their place in League A, while Serbia were left facing a difficult battle to avoid relegation, according to the website of UEFA Nations League.

Klopp made sweeping changes to the side that suffered a home defeat against Greece on Sunday, with Germany starting brightly and creating a string of opportunities.

Aleksandar Pavlovic came close early on when he curled an effort just wide, while Nick Woltemade also threatened before Serge Gnabry failed to find the target after being played through by Florian Wirtz.

Germany continued to dominate possession and territory, with debutant Derry Scherhant curling narrowly wide and Djordje Petrovic producing a strong one-on-one save to deny Gnabry.

Wirtz then came close to breaking the deadlock when he headed Gnabry's cross towards goal, only for Petrovic to make the save.

The hosts finally found the breakthrough shortly before half-time. Wirtz displayed fine footwork inside the penalty area before seeing his effort strike the post, but Bischof was quickest to react and fired the rebound into the roof of the net for his first international goal.

Germany continued to threaten after the restart, although they were guilty of wasting several chances.

Scherhant hit the side netting on three occasions, while Said El Mala was introduced and also looked to make an impact on his Germany debut.

Woltemade then missed a huge opportunity from close range, sending the ball over the bar from just a couple of yards after Philipp Treu's cross.

Germany eventually doubled their advantage in the 60th minute when Maximilian Mittelstadt advanced forward and found Wirtz. The Bayer Leverkusen midfielder turned past Srdjan Babic before calmly slotting the ball into the bottom corner.

Serbia struggled to respond as Germany maintained control for the remainder of the contest and restricted the visitors to very few meaningful opportunities.

The result was particularly important for Klopp, who had been in danger of becoming the first Germany manager to go without a victory in his opening three matches.

Germany, ranked 12th in the FIFA rankings, will next face Greece on Sunday as they continue their bid to remain in Nations League League A.

Serbia, ranked 40th, have now suffered six defeats in seven matches in 2026, leaving their top-tier status increasingly under threat.

— ANI