The biggest buzz after the opening night of the Nations League was around the debuts of Jurgen Klopp and Xavi Hernandez. Germany led going into injury time in Amsterdam, but the Netherlands made it 1-1 through Cody Gakpo in the second minute of regulation time. Felix Nmecha had put the visitors ahead in the first half.
Xavi praised his team's reaction after the break. "The second half is the way we have to play. We want to show ambition, passion and desire," said the Netherlands coach. Klopp took the point more calmly, but pointed to the late goal as a missed opportunity: “I feel we lost two points because of the time we conceded the goal.“
Klopp started with squad problems
The German staff had to make changes before and during the match. Jamal Musiala was ruled out with a thigh problem during the warm-up, and Kai Havertz left the field in the first half. Klopp expected both to miss the next match against Greece. “It takes more than two days to develop a way of playing. We have only scratched the surface,“ the German coach told The Guardian.
The British publication's assessment of Germany was that the team looked raw and chaotic at times, but showed an energy that had been missing for a long time. For the Netherlands, the late goal left a sense of potential, although the team failed to convert their half-time lead into more goals.
Portugal, Norway start with wins
Portugal, the reigning champions, beat Wales 1-0 in Lisbon. Joao Felix scored in the 22nd minute in Jorge Jesus' first match in charge. The striker described the new coach's ideas as "very attacking football, pressing and not giving the opposition a chance to breathe". Jesus was also pleased with the defence: “It was important not to concede a goal.“
Norway beat Denmark 3-2 in a match in which the hosts led 2-0, conceded an equaliser and Erling Haaland scored the winner in the 74th minute. Oscar Bob and Haaland scored for the early lead, while Mikkel Damsgaard and Rasmus Heulun equalised for Denmark. TV pundit Kristoffer Løkberg described Norway's relaxation as “a breath of fresh air”, but coach Stole Solbakken rejected the wording. "We should be proud that we beat a very good opponent 3-2," he said.
Austria and Kosovo take important points
Austria beat Israel 3-1, with Ralf Rangnick stressing that his team only conceded one shot on goal. "From the 30th minute we had more control and took the game into our own hands," said the coach. In the other group match, Kosovo won 1-0 against the Republic of Ireland after a goal by Vedat Muriki in the 83rd minute. Ireland captain Dara O'Shea admitted that his team was under constant pressure, and RTÉ Kosovo had 17 chances to score against just one shot on target for the visitors.
In the other matches, Greece beat Serbia 2-1, Malta won 2-1 against Andorra, and Lithuania beat Liechtenstein 2-0. The next big highlight is on September 27: Norway hosts Portugal, Germany plays Greece, and the Netherlands visits Serbia.
Sources: The Guardian, RTÉ, Sky Sport Austria