Cody Gakpo’s stoppage-time volley rescued a 1-1 draw for the Netherlands against Germany in the Nations League, denying Jürgen Klopp a win in his first match as Germany manager and earning Xavi a point in his own debut as the Netherlands’ head coach. Gakpo struck in added time, volleying in from Ruben van Bommel’s cross, and the home side’s equaliser was a deserved one.
Klopp had predicted that his bow could be wild, a trait he was willing to accept as long as his team looked lively, and he got both in a strange, frayed and at times alarmingly pinball-like game. Felix Nmecha’s first-half goal had seemed to hand him an early shot of positivity, although it was scored to the chagrin of opponents who felt play should have stopped while Brian Brobbey required treatment.
The Netherlands had earlier believed they had taken the lead. In the 13th minute Virgil van Dijk glanced in Tijjani Reijnders’ corner, only for the video assistant referee to intervene and decide that Brobbey had impeded the flailing Marc-André ter Stegen. The recalled goalkeeper, now operating domestically with Ajax, looked fortunate.
Klopp’s start was beset by problems. Jamal Musiala, feeling his thigh in the warm-up, was replaced before kick-off by Nadiem Amiri. Kai Havertz then went down near halfway and was quickly replaced by the Eintracht Frankfurt forward Younes Ebnoutalib, who immediately stung Bart Verbruggen’s palms. The fitness of Musiala and Havertz may prove a longer-term preoccupation for Klopp than a skittish defensive display, and will set alarm bells ringing at their clubs.
The Germany manager had named a sprawling 44-man squad for the Nations League break, half of it contesting Germany’s first two games and half the second. Philipp Treu, the Freiburg right-back, was the only newcomer picked to start here, while Brentford’s Kevin Schade was also selected.
Germany’s breakthrough arrived in fractious circumstances. Jan Paul van Hecke had already entered the book for a crunching challenge on Schade when Joshua Kimmich played on despite there initially appearing an appetite to kick the ball out. The move continued and Nmecha converted the rebound after Karim Adeyemi’s close-range effort had been blocked, with the Dutch players making their feelings known as a scuffle broke up on the far touchline. Germany should have had another when Nathaniel Brown squared to an open Adeyemi, who spooned horribly over.
By then Brobbey had gone off as well, but the Netherlands could nonetheless have been level by half-time, with Crysencio Summerville and Gakpo both working Ter Stegen.
Xavi’s players re-emerged at high tempo but lacked the subtlety to complement their speed, while Germany, brisk but slack, were hardly exhibiting greater accuracy. Adeyemi sliced painfully off target again from an angle after Schade had collected a loose pass. A smart backheel on the hour by Mexx Meerdink, making his debut as Brobbey’s replacement, improved the spectacle and sent Denzel Dumfries clear inside the box, but Ter Stegen blocked with a foot. Another Netherlands corner then wreaked havoc: Meerdink was again denied by Ter Stegen before blasting into the net after the whistle had, to the hosts’ further dismay, been blown for a foul. Meerdink could only point to himself when he diverted a Dumfries centre wide on the stretch.
The Netherlands’ pressure finally told through Gakpo. This fixture may remain one of Europe’s great international rivalries, but the motivations here were more inward-looking, the occasion a laboratory for new ideas and fresh beginnings. A banner reading “Welkom Xavi” greeted the Netherlands’ own new dawn, and when Klopp’s name was read out before kick-off the travelling fans in the north-east corner yelled their approval.