Germany beat Serbia 3:1 in Belgrade to keep their hopes of reaching the Nations League quarter-finals alive. The visitors decided the match with two goals in the first half, while after the break Brajan Gruda scored on his debut before Srđan Babić pulled one back for the hosts. Serbia finished the match with nine players following the red cards shown to Vanja Dragojević and Andrija Živković.
“The team played a great match. We have to get used to the fact that we can be really good,” Jürgen Klopp said after the match. The German coach praised the way his team had controlled possession and found solutions against Serbia’s defence. Klopp admitted that Germany had lost some of its rhythm after the break, but in his view Gruda’s goal quickly restored their control.
Joshua Kimmich also highlighted the first half. “We played almost the entire match in the opponent’s half and made them move,” Germany’s captain said. He added that the difficult pitch had made things more complicated after the break, but the team had created further chances.
Gruda Made His Debut One of the Highlights
The most widely discussed German moment was Brajan Gruda’s goal to make it 3:0 in the 50th minute. The forward ran through half the pitch, got clear of the defence and finished the attack with a shot into the right corner. “I’m happy; this is a dream come true for me and my whole family,” Gruda said.
German media described the victory as convincing. “N-TV” portrayed the hosts as helpless and highlighted the fast start, the debutant’s strong performance and the fact that Germany could decide their own fate in the final match. “Sportschau” also focused on Klopp’s second win in charge of the national team and on the need for Germany to beat the Netherlands to guarantee their place in the quarter-finals.
Paunović Admitted Germany’s Superiority
Serbia coach Veljko Paunović described the visitors’ success as deserved. “We faced an opponent who, as in the first match, was dominant,” he said. According to Paunović, the hosts had failed to build their game in the first half and had conceded the opening goal naively. He also pointed to the problems they had when trying to play out of Germany’s press, as well as the fact that Serbia had not used enough passes to move forward.
The coach, however, said that the team had looked better after the break and had come close to scoring a second goal. Paunović also criticised the refereeing over Živković’s sending-off, but his overall assessment of the match remained that Germany had deserved the victory.
Serbia captain Dušan Tadić identified the early own goal as a key moment. “When you concede a goal so early, the opponent gains confidence while you start to doubt yourselves,” he said. Serbian media described the match as yet another demonstration of the difference between the two teams and highlighted the poor start, Babić’s own goal and the two red cards.
Serbia will conclude the group stage against Greece in Volos on 16 November and will have to play a play-off to remain in the top division. On the same day, Germany will host the Netherlands in Berlin. A victory will secure the Germans’ place in the tournament’s quarter-finals.
Sources: sportal.blic.rs, meridiansport.rs, n-tv.de