Nations League: Alexander Nübel is in goal against Greece

He had announced that he would give as many players as possible a chance to play. This is an opportunity for goalkeeper Alexander Nübel on Sunday. When the German national soccer team meets Greece in the second Nations League game in Augsburg this evening, national coach Jürgen Klopp will put his trust in the 29-year-old Nübel.

During the final session on Saturday morning, Nübel was intensively prepared in individual training by goalkeeping coach Andreas Kronenberg. Marc-André ter Stegen, who played in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, and Finn Dahmen practiced on the opposite side in Herzogenaurach with the second goalkeeping coach Stefan Wessels.

Since moving to Besiktas Istanbul in the summer, Nübel has had a strong season so far and has kept a clean sheet in his first six competitive games. It will be his fourth international match.

Marc-André ter Stegen played in the 1-1 draw against the Netherlands - and was sometimes criticized afterwards despite many strong saves. That surprised him, Klopp said on Saturday at the final press conference. "That's very unusual in a game in which the opposing coach says that the goalkeeper saved our asses. Marc made an outstanding save. Yes, twice in his own possession he didn't give the opponent the ball he wanted or should have played. That happens. I was very happy with him." Nübel would still play against Greece, but not because of that. "He deserves this. I hope Alex enjoys it tomorrow and keeps the place clean."

The international match in Augsburg is sold out with 29,000 spectators. For the first time in 25 years there will be standing room at an international match - 10,000 in total.

Jürgen Klopp is happy about that. "We had the sad opportunity to play in empty stadiums during Corona. That humbled us about what makes a good atmosphere. But we are clear that we have to play a big part in ensuring that there is a good atmosphere."

At the request of the national coach, the German Football Association (DFB) entourage will only travel by bus from the team headquarters to Augsburg on Sunday, i.e. on match day. There is usually no arrival on the day of the game. Background to the short-term change of plans: Klopp wanted to give his players enough time to regenerate as they had only returned to Herzogenaurach from Amsterdam on Friday.

Klopp reported on Saturday about a good final training session, in which Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Burkardt also took part. They joined the squad for the game in Augsburg in place of Jamal Musiala and Kai Havertz, who left injured. The Greeks, the Germans' opponents, won their opening game in the Nations League 2-1 in Serbia. Klopp praised the opponent highly. Greek football is in a good moment – ​​and currently has “a golden generation”.

Although Jürgen Klopp actually didn't want to go into detail on Saturday when he was asked about Florian Wirtz - "as that would go too far and create headlines that we don't want to create," as he said - the national coach went on to explain his point of view in detail.

Wirtz, who moved to Liverpool FC in 2025 for 125 million, where Klopp was coach from 2015 to 2024, is currently facing a lot of criticism in England.

Wirtz's footballing abilities are beyond any doubt. He is on the right track. “But in the world we live in,” said Klopp, “it is fundamentally the case that things never go fast enough for people.” But you also have to look at the overall context in this case, the coach added - and recalled that Wirtz moved to Liverpool when the tragic death of Liverpool player Diogo Jota overshadowed the entire summer preparation. Jota and his brother died in a traffic accident.

"He came into a team at a time that had an incredible number of players for whom football wasn't the priority at that moment. You come in as a new player and everyone immediately longs for someone to take the coals out of the fire. That's impossible. He definitely learned a lot in the year he went through," said Klopp. Wirtz is in very good physical condition. "The team is now finding itself again after many changes. That takes time."

Klopp once again chose the right words. As has happened so often in the past few days, when there was a lot of hype about him. And the interest in the new national coach shows no sign of abating. What he says, what he does, how he behaves – everything seems somehow important. Of course, the 59-year-old coach doesn't notice this, but said again on Saturday: "I don't need it. I don't long for it. I can't prevent it - and I don't think about it."