The start of the 2026-2027 European Nations League witnesses major technical changes with Klopp, Xavi and Jesus

The start of the European Nations League competitions for the current season 2026-2027 will witness many high-caliber football peaks. This coincides with new sports projects for the Old Continent’s leaders, led by coaches who took over the banner after the end of the World Cup competitions that were held in the summer in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico.

The first round begins with four summit matches between the Netherlands and Germany, Serbia vs. Greece in the second group, Portugal clashes with Wales, and Norway vs. Denmark in the fourth.

The end of the 2026 World Cup not only marked the closing of the curtain on the tournament, but also opened the door to the departure of a large number of coaches, whether due to dismissal, resignation, or expiration of contracts, in addition to making changes that were predetermined before the start of the tournament. While teams such as Spain, the world champion, and England, who finished third in the World Cup, retained their coaches, major teams such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, Croatia and Belgium entered a new phase, which constituted one of the largest waves of change at the level of technical staff in recent years.

Klopp, Xavi and a new challenge

The German national team will be a guest of the Netherlands with a new technical staff led by the expert Jurgen Klopp, who is returning again to the world of training two years after his departure from Liverpool, in order to save the machines after bidding farewell to the World Cup early in the last three editions: 2018 under the leadership of Joachim Loew, 2022 under the leadership of Hansi Flick, and finally 2026 under the leadership of Julian Nagelsmann.

As for the Dutch national team, famous for its “windmills,” it hired the Spaniard, former Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez, to succeed Ronald Koeman, under whose leadership the team exited the World Cup in the round of 32 with a loss to Morocco.

Before heading to Amsterdam, Klopp promised to follow a new approach with the German national team, which has witnessed a significant decline in its results since winning its fourth world title in 2014 in Brazil.

Klopp sent an appeal to German fans at home and abroad, thanking the fans who “support us from all over the world.”

After returning to the training seats for the first time since leaving Liverpool in 2024, Klopp promised to follow a new policy; Hoping to return the faltering German giant to a position close to what it was previously, he said: “We will try everything possible to make our new approach clear.” “I expect to see more immediately.”

He added: “It might get a little messy, but I accept that. “The important thing is that there is vitality.”

The successes he achieved with Mainz and Borussia Dortmund in Germany and Liverpool in England gave Klopp a position unmatched by anyone in modern German football. Many prominent coaches have taken over the leadership of the German national team, but few of them have had the same level of authority to radically change the status quo.

His first step was to announce an expanded list of 44 players, including 16 new faces who had never played internationally, to be divided into two groups for the matches, while excluding the popular striker Deniz Undav, as evidence of his willingness to think differently. Freiburg right-back Philippe Troy is one of the new names called up. The 25-year-old player was not previously considered among the German national team's options, nor did he play under Klopp's leadership, but he summed up the feelings of many players whose careers the coach changed over the years.

Troy said: “You feel ready to walk on fire for him... Klopp is an exceptional person.”

As for the other newcomer, Eintracht Frankfurt striker Younes Bentaleb, he was the subject of interest from his native Morocco, the African champion and fourth-place finisher in the 2022 World Cup. The Frankfurt-born striker spoke about his decision to represent Germany, while summing up Klopp’s appeal, saying: “When Klopp calls you, you have to go. "He is one of the best coaches in the world and brings great positive energy."

After Germany was accustomed to reaching at least the semi-finals in major tournaments during the last decade, it has achieved only one victory in the knockout rounds of the World Cup or European Cup since 2016.

Klopp's mission to revive the German national team seems daunting, but the 59-year-old coach is no stranger to reviving giants who have fallen from the top.

When he took over as coach of Dortmund, the club had just survived bankruptcy. In less than five years, his team won the league title twice and reached the Champions League final. In Liverpool, Klopp took over a team that had qualified for the Champions League only once during the previous five seasons, leading them to three final matches and winning the title once. Most importantly, he brought the English Premier League title back to Anfield for the first time after an absence of 30 years. In light of a divided media landscape that includes former players who do not hesitate to criticize the German Football Association, Klopp began working to unite the country behind a common goal.

During the announcement of his lineup, Klopp distributed hats in the colors of the German flag bearing the phrase “One in 83 Million,” in reference to the population of Germany.

He also contacted members of the German Federation’s star team, who are former international players who played at least one match with the national team, asking for their support by saying: “We are all the national team.”

It seems that former player and influential commentator Lothar Matthaus was influenced by Klopp's campaign, as he wrote in his column on the website of the German network Sky: "Everything will be better with Klopp taking over the job."

On the other hand, the Netherlands used Xavi Hernandez to succeed Koeman, hoping to cause an uprising in the Windmills national team. Ironically, Xavi will take over the technical management, succeeding Koeman, for the second time, after this happened in the summer of 2021 in Barcelona, ​​​​Spain. Koeman, who is considered one of the most prominent Dutch players in history, twice coached the Windmills national team and led it during the 2024 European Championship. As for Xavi, he is one of the most prominent graduates of the Barcelona academy, and played a pivotal role in the club’s golden era before moving to training with Al-Sadd of Qatar and Barcelona. He is now having his first experience with a national team, with a contract extending until the 2030 World Cup.

Xavi said before the difficult first challenge against Germany that he expected more enthusiasm, seriousness, commitment and taking the initiative from the group selected for the squad.

He explained: “Everything is new for me and the technical staff. So the first thing we will do is get to know each other, get to know all the players, and insist or convince them of our style of play. We don't have much time. But there are no excuses, every coach goes through the same situation.”

He added: “I want to clarify the values ​​that we want. I am ready to listen to their points of view and I want to help them.” I want to enjoy this journey with them. We want to create a cohesive group. Players should come to the national team happily, but in the end, the main goal is to win.”

Xavi stressed: “You cannot promise results, but we will work to achieve them.” But I can promise you that we will play with strength, passion and good rhythm and we will strive to be competitive and take the initiative in the match. That's for sure. There will be a different way of playing. I don't want to compare, and I don't want to talk about the past. I respect Ronald Koeman a lot. But I focus on the present.”

Xavi indicated that Virgil van Dijk will remain captain of the team after the two met in Liverpool to discuss his future with the national team, and he explained: “It was a really good meeting.” He was very honest. He has the ability to keep going. He is a good leader, positive and enthusiastic. "He is ready to be the leader."

Both Klopp and Xavi are making a strong start in the third group, and the winner of them will strengthen their position at the top, as Serbia and Greece are seen as the weakest link.

A new era for Portugal

In turn, the Portuguese national team, the defending champion and winner of the Nations League twice in 2019 and 2025, will compete in the tournament with a new technical staff led by veteran Jorge Jesus, who took over from Spaniard Roberto Martinez after the team bid farewell to the World Cup with a loss in the round of 16 to Spain.

Jesus will begin his career with Portugal in Group D with varying matches, as he will face Wales today, before playing two heavy-caliber matches against Norway, led by Manchester City star Erling Haaland and his teammates, next Sunday in Oslo and October 4 in Lisbon, and between those two matches is a meeting against Denmark on October 1.

Jesus kept the strength of the Portuguese squad unchanged, renewing his confidence in veteran striker and captain Cristiano Ronaldo (41 years old) for the next four matches.

Following his exit from the American World Cup, Ronaldo raised speculation about his plans to retire after he stated that next year would likely be the last of his football career.

Ronaldo is considered one of the most decorated players in the history of football with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and his current club, Al-Nassr Saudi Arabia, since he played his first match with the senior team in the ranks of Sporting Lisbon in 2002.

Ronaldo, who won the Ballon d'Or five times, was unable to add the World Cup title to his list of achievements, which is the only one absent from his treasury.

“Ronaldo’s performance is what matters,” Jesus said before starting his career with Portugal. The past does not count.” He added: “In this team, there are 13 players who worked with me. I don't have a fixed plan, Cristiano is a player like any other player. If he performs well, he will play and if he does not perform well, he will not play. He's won the Ballon d'Or five times, but does that influence my decisions? no. However, the truth is that he is a truly outstanding and influential player.”

Jesus hopes to emerge from his first match as Portuguese coach with a win against Wales before heading to face Norway and Denmark, who also clash today.

Norway is counting on its glowing star, Haaland (26 years old), who scored 62 goals with the national team, including seven goals in only five matches during the last World Cup.

The first round of the Nations League will be completed over the next three days, as the French national team begins its fourth World Cup in 2026, a new era under the leadership of its star and legend, Zinedine Zidane, who took over the baton from his partner in winning the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Nations, Didier Deschamps, who led the “Roosters” for 14 years, during which he won the 2018 World Cup and the European Nations League title. 2021, in addition to Euro 2016 silver, Nations League bronze in 2025, and World Cup silver in 2022.

Zidane will begin his career with the Roosters with difficult tests, as he will visit Turkey and Belgium tomorrow, then next Monday, before hosting Italy and then Belgium on the 2nd and 5th of next October in the first group competitions.

Zidane's rivals are also preparing for a new era, as the Italian national team has brought back its coach, Roberto Mancini, who led it to win the European Nations Cup (Euro 2021) to save it from the cycle of failure and oblivion after the team's failure to qualify for the last three editions of the World Cup in 2018, 2022 and 2026.

The Belgian national team also dispensed with its French coach, Rudi Garcia, with whom he reached the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, to sign a contract with Dutchman Mark van Bommel.

Football fans will have a date with strong confrontations in the third group, which includes Spain, the world and European champions, Croatia, England and the Czech Republic, and their confrontations begin on Saturday.