"This is crazy," Jürgen Klopp said as Germany head into Monday night's Nations League decider against the Netherlands at Berlin's Olympic Stadium at 20.45. A win sends Germany into the quarter-finals on their own. A draw can also be enough, but only if Greece slip against Serbia.
Germany's route to the quarter-finals
The group state of play leaves little room for error. Germany sit third in the section with 8 points from 5 matches, level with Greece and 3 behind Netherlands, who are top with 11 points from 5 games. The first meeting ended 1-1, so Germany cannot lean on a repeat of that result and expect the maths to sort itself out.
They go into the game after beating Serbia 3-1 on Friday evening, a result that kept the path open. The recent run has been decent enough to keep them in the hunt, but the table still leaves them needing a proper performance against the group leaders.
Klopp's expected changes
Klopp is expected to make only two changes from the Serbia win. Nico Schlotterbeck is likely to replace Malick Thiaw, while Nathaniel Brown is a candidate to come in for Maximilian Mittelstädt.
That points to a side with much of the same structure that beat Serbia, which makes sense in a match this important. Germany do not need a complicated plan in Berlin, just a clean result and, if the draw route is in play, a result elsewhere as well.
Brajan Gruda is also in the picture as Germany keep their options open for the final game of the group.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
