Preview: Netherlands vs Germany - prediction, team news, lineups

Xavi and Jurgen Klopp will make their international management debuts on Thursday night when the Netherlands lock horns with Germany in a blockbuster UEFA Nations League opener in Amsterdam.

These two European heavyweights will be competing in League A Group 2 alongside Serbia and Greece, with a top-two finish required to secure their spot in the quarter-finals.

Match preview

For the first time since 1978, the Netherlands have appointed Xavi as their first foreign coach, with the 46-year-old Barcelona icon penning a four-year contract to see him through to the next European Championship and World Cup.

A legendary midfielder in his playing days who also won a La Liga title in his last managerial job with Barca in 2023, Xavi has labelled himself “partly a son of Dutch football” due to the profound influence of Johan Cruyff and the experience he gained under coaches including Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard.

Xavi is determined to build a Netherlands squad without “egos” and implement an attacking, possession-based brand of football contrasting the rigid and overly pragmatic approach under his predecessor Ronald Koeman, who resigned following the Oranje’s last-32 elimination at the 2026 World Cup.

Netherlands were beaten on penalties by Morocco in that match at the end of June, though they did not lose any of their four fixtures at the World Cup in 90 minutes (W2 D2). In fact, they have not lost a competitive game in normal time since they were beaten 1-0 against none other than Germany in the Nations League in October 2024.

The Oranje are two-time Nations League semi-finalists who reached the quarter-finals in the 2024-25 campaign; they drew 2-2 with Germany in Amsterdam during the group stage and finished in second place behind Die Mannschaft.

Two years after ending his legendary spell at Liverpool because he was "running out of energy", Jurgen Klopp has now reached the “pinnacle” of his coaching career after stepping onto the international stage for the first time to spearhead a new era for his beloved Germany.

Klopp, who lasted just six months as the Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull, was the “unequivocal choice” to succeed Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned following Die Mannschaft’s shock penalty-shootout defeat to Paraguay in the last 32 of the World Cup this summer.

Hailed as the messianic saviour of a fractured national team, Klopp is tasked with restoring Germany’s once-famous winning mentality while instilling a heavy-metal philosophy that can help push the four-time world champions closer to major honours and climb from 12th in the FIFA rankings.

After failing to win their final two games at the World Cup, including a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador, Germany are at risk of going three consecutive games without a victory for the first time since a four-match winless run ending in September last year.

However, Die Mannschaft are unbeaten in their last four encounters with the Netherlands (W2 D2), while they can take confidence from having lost just one of their last nine away games against European nations (W6 D2) in all competitions heading into Thursday’s clash at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Netherlands form (all competitions):

Germany form (all competitions):

Team News

The Netherlands will have to cope without Donyell Malen and Justin Kluivert, who have both withdrawn from the squad due to injury, joining the likes of Mats Wieffer, Matthijs de Ligt and Xavi Simons on the sidelines.

Midfield trio Frenkie de Jong, Martin de Roon and Jerdy Schouten will also play no part during this international break, while experienced attackers Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst have been omitted from Xavi’s first squad.

However, captain Virgil van Dijk has committed his future to the Oranje and the Liverpool star could line up in a four-man defence alongside Denzel Dumfries, Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven.

Teun Koopmeiners and Tijjani Reijnders could be selected in midfield alongside Ryan Gravenberch, while Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey – fresh from netting a hat-trick against Man City last weekend – is likely to lead the line in between widemen Crycensio Summerville and Cody Gakpo.

As for Germany, Klopp has selected 44 players across two squads for their four Nations League fixtures, with 24 of those available to face the Netherlands.

Florian Wirtz, Karim Adeyemi, Nick Woltemade, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Said El Mala are among those who will not be involved on Thursday after being named in the second group, while Leon Goretzka and Deniz Undav have been left out entirely due to injury.

With captain Joshua Kimmich set to move back into midfield under Klopp, Josha Vagnoman and uncapped Philipp Treu will compete for a start at right-back, while Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck and Nathaniel Brown are expected to complete the four-man defence.

After scoring five goals in as many games for Eintracht Frankfurt, Younes Ebnoutalib is pushing to make his full international debut, but Arsenal’s Kai Havertz is more likely to lead the line, with Lennart Karl, Jamal Musiala and Kevin Schade potentially providing support in attack.

Netherlands possible starting lineup:

Verbruggen; Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven; Koopmeiners, Gravenberch, Reijnders; Summerville, Brobbey, Gakpo

Germany possible starting lineup:

Ter Stegen; Treu, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Brown; Kimmich, Nmecha; Karl, Musiala, Schade; Havertz

We say: Netherlands 2-2 Germany

Thursday’s contest promises to be a highly intriguing and unpredictable affair between two powerful nations entering new eras and keen to make a positive start under fresh management.

While the Netherlands boast an exceptional home record with just one defeat in Amsterdam since October 2023 (W11 D4), Germany have found the net in each of their last 13 internationals and we can see the spoils being shared here in an entertaining stalemate.