Klopp encouraged by Germany display despite late Netherlands equaliser

Jurgen Klopp said he saw enough to be encouraged by Germany’s performance in his first match as head coach, although a late Cody Gakpo goal denied his side victory in a 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw with the Netherlands on Thursday.

Germany appeared set to begin Klopp’s tenure with a win after Felix Nmecha put them ahead. However, Gakpo struck late to earn the Netherlands a point and leave Klopp reflecting on both the progress made and the areas still requiring improvement.

The former club manager was particularly pleased with the attitude shown by his players throughout a demanding contest.

“I was very, very, very pleased with a lot of the individual performances,” Klopp told RTL. “Overall, I was very happy with the passion we showed. We can play better and play more football, that’s for sure.

“We created work for ourselves, which meant we had to run and put in the effort – it was demanding for both teams. I would have really loved to win, but I’m happy enough with the point.”

Klopp has spent more than 1,000 matches on the touchline during his coaching career. Despite taking charge of a national side rather than a club team, he said the central experience of managing from the technical area felt unchanged.

“I’ve stood on the touchline more than 1,000 times, so I know the position and that hasn’t changed,” he said.

The Germany coach also accepted that Serge Gnabry’s decision-making contributed to the Netherlands’ equaliser.

Gnabry lost possession during the closing stages, allowing the Dutch to begin the move that ended with Gakpo finishing the attack. Klopp said the Bayern Munich forward should have carried the ball in the opposite direction before the Netherlands regained possession.

“That’s not a problem, it can happen. But Serge has to run forward in that moment,” Klopp said.

“He has to take his first touch forward with the ball when you still have 20 or 30 seconds to play. But Serge obviously knows that too.”

Former Germany international Lothar Matthaus also identified Gnabry’s error, while acknowledging the quality of the Netherlands’ response.

“That was a great attack, but Gnabry must not lose the ball and he has to track back faster,” Matthaus said.

Klopp will have little time to assess Thursday’s performance before Germany’s next fixture. Greece are the opponents on Sunday, when Germany will seek to build on the positive aspects of the draw while correcting the mistakes that prevented them from securing all three points.