News (engl.)

Germany succumbed to a 1-0 UEFA Nations League loss against Greece in Augsburg. Dimitrios Kourbelis scored in the 74th minute to put a dampener on head coach Jürgen Klopp’s first home match in charge of the national team.

Klopp made five changes to the side that drew 1-1 against the Netherlands last Thursday. Alexander Nübel replaced Marc-André ter Stegen between the sticks, with Yann Aurel Bisseck partnering Jonathan Tah at centre-back due to Nico Schlotterbeck being rested. Nathaniel Brown retained his spot at left-back, with Josha Vagnoman starting on the right-hand side. The defensive midfield was unchanged, as captain Joshua Kimmich and Felix Nmecha started against Greece. There were also no alterations to the wingers, with Karim Adeyemi and Kevin Schade also being named in the XI. Debutant Bambasé Conté was given the nod for the attacking midfield spot over Nadiem Amiri, while Younes Ebnoutalib replaced the injured Kai Havertz in the line-up.

It would be Conté to have the first shot of the match in the second minute, though his effort went wide of the right post. Greece kept things tight, preferring to sit back and look to pounce on the counter when Germany were in possession. Germany, on the other hand, sought to exploit the chinks in the opposition’s armour but had to remain alert at the back, such as for Konstantinos Karestas’ attempt (8’). From a German perspective, Klopp’s side lacked the necessary pace and precision to break down the solid Greek defence.

Chances for Adeyemi

Germany only had their first real sight at goal around the 25-minute mark, though Ebnoutalib was unable to get his shot on target after being teed up by Schade. If Germany could find space, they were able to pose a threat. Following a Greece free-kick, Adeyemi found himself one-on-one with the keeper but fired over (27’). Germany were looking more decisive by this point, though still lacked the final piece of the puzzle. It was Adeyemi once again to threaten following a corner – this time, he was denied by a stunning save from Greek keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis (32’).

The home side emerged unchanged after the interval, and it would be Conté once more to show the first signs of attacking intent. However, Tzolakis was in the right place at the right time to keep the scoreline level. Shortly afterwards, Ebnoutalib didn’t get enough purchase on his shot (50’) and, not even a minute later, the striker was a hair’s breadth away from connecting with a whipped ball into the box from Brown (51’). By this point, the pressure was well and truly on the visitors. Tzolakis managed to get a hand to Kimmich’s free-kick and claw it out of the corner. Almost directly after that, Adeyemi deftly set up Nmecha whose shot was misplaced (54’).

Kourbelis strike stuns Germany

Klopp’s side were more active and hounded the Greek players out of possession. Jonathan Burkardt replaced Schade in the 65th minute and formed a strike partnership with Ebnoutalib, with Florian Wirtz coming on for Conté. Greece would have the biggest chance to go 1-0 up after Germany ceded possession, but an unmarked Fotis Ioannidis fired the ball wide of the post (67’). Then, the most shocking moment of the match – Kourbelis found the back of the net via a deflection to put the away side ahead (74’).

Klopp made a change in reaction to the goal, bringing Serge Gnabry on for Adeyemi (76’). Bisseck had the first big chance after falling behind, though headed wide (77’). Gnabry almost made an instant impact with his shot from a tight angle (80’). More substitutions followed for Germany, with Anton Stach and Hennes Behrens – another debutant – entering the fray in place of Nmecha and Brown respectively (84’). They were not enough to change the scoreline, however, and the match ended in a 1-0 victory for Greece.