The German national team achieved its first victory under the leadership of its new coach, Jurgen Klopp, by defeating its Serbian guest 2-0, on Thursday, in the third round of Group Two competitions in the first level of the European Nations League.
Klopp had taken over as coach of Germany, succeeding Julian Nagelsmann, who left after the team was eliminated from the round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup by Paraguay on penalties.
Germany began its campaign with Klopp with a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, before losing at home to Greece 0-1, succeeding against Serbia in achieving its first victory and raising its score to 4 points in third place. On the other hand, the Serbian team remained without points after suffering its third loss in a row.
The German team imposed its advantage from the beginning at the Allianz Arena, and Alexander Pavlovic was close to opening the scoring in the eighth minute with a shot from outside the penalty area that passed near the post.
After a series of attempts, Tom Bischoff succeeded in giving the hosts the lead in the 39th minute, after Florian Wirtz's shot bounced off the post and reached Bischoff, who followed it directly into the net.
Germany continued its pressure in the second half, and Nick Voltemade wasted an opportunity in the 58th minute, after receiving a pass from Wirtz, but he shot over the crossbar even though the goal was empty.
Three minutes later, Wirtz made up for the opportunity and added the second goal, after receiving a pass from Maximilian Mittelstadt, and passed the Serbian defender before putting the ball into the net.
The match saw Klopp rely on Jonas Orbig, Bayern Munich's reserve goalkeeper, as a starter, while Voltimade, the Juventus striker on loan from Newcastle, led the attack.
Germany will meet Greece in Athens, next Sunday, in the fourth round, while Serbia will host the Netherlands on the same day.
The Portuguese national team continued its victories in the European Nations League, after defeating its Danish host 4-2, in the first match it played after its captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, left the national team camp, at a time when Germany achieved its first victory under the leadership of its coach Jurgen Klopp at the expense of Serbia 2-0, while the Netherlands tied with Greece 2-2, and Norway fell to Wales 2-1.
After 24 hours full of developments in the Ronaldo crisis, the Portuguese national team entered its third match in the tournament without its captain, amid great doubts about its international future. Bruno Fernandes carried the captaincy, while Rafael Leao wore the No. 7 shirt, Nuno Mendes and Vitinha started, while Joao Neves sat on the bench.
On the Danish side, Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg played his 100th international match.
Despite the difficult start, Portugal opened the scoring in the 13th minute through Joao Cancelo, who recovered the ball near the penalty area and exchanged it with Goncalo Ramos before brilliantly putting it into the net.
Mikkel Damsgaard equalized for Denmark in the 23rd minute with a wonderful shot, but Portugal's response came quickly, as Goncalo Ramos needed only two minutes to put his country back in front, scoring his 100th goal in his career.
In the second half, the Danish team came back again and equalized through Rasmus Hoylund in the 53rd minute, before the striker celebrated in the famous “SIU” style, in reference to his idol, Cristiano Ronaldo.
But Portugal regained its lead in the 67th minute, when Vitinha headed a special pass from Bruno Fernandes into the net, before Joao Felix decided the confrontation by scoring the fourth goal in the 87th minute, his third goal in three consecutive matches.
With this victory, the Portuguese national team achieved its third victory in a row under the leadership of Jorge Jesus.
In the same group of the first level, Wales achieved its first victory in 2026 after defeating Norway 2-1, in a match during which Erling Haaland was unable to leave his mark.
The match between Ireland and Austria was stopped for a short period, Thursday, in the third group of the second level in the European Nations League, after protesters threw tennis balls on the grounds of the Aviva Stadium, in objection to the Irish national team’s decision to play its next match against Israel.
The Irish team was leading 1-0 amidst a large crowd, when the referee had to stop the match for a short period in the 20th minute, after tennis balls bearing the Palestinian flag were thrown onto the field.
Ireland is one of the European countries most critical of the Israeli war in Gaza, while fans have repeatedly called on the national team to boycott its matches against Israel in the European Nations League since the draw was made last February.
Goalkeeper Gavin Bazuno had withdrawn from the national team squad on the eve of the 3-0 victory over Israel, last Sunday, in a match held in Hungary, after the players took two votes the day before and the majority chose to play the match.
Bazunu returned to the national team roster and sat on the bench against Austria, but he will not participate in the next match against Israel, on Sunday, which the Irish Federation moved to Serbia, where it will be held without an audience in the city of Bačka Topola.
Troy Parrott had given Ireland the lead in the 12th minute, after he bypassed the Austrian defense and reached the penalty area before shooting a low ball into the far corner of the net.
Members of the Irish FA voted in November to ask the UEFA Board of Directors to suspend Israel’s participation in European competitions, before a motion was approved at a meeting held in July in favor of continuing to compete.
