Klopp's Germany vs Xavi's Oranje: A Nations League Showdown

The Nations League rarely feels like a fresh start. This one does.

On 24 September 2026, at 14:45 EST (18:45 GMT), Amsterdam hosts a reboot on both benches: Jürgen Klopp in the Germany dugout, Xavi in charge of the Netherlands. Two giants, two new ideologies, one group that already has a bit of edge.

Xavi’s Oranje, minus Memphis

The first big statement from Xavi came before a ball was kicked. No Memphis Depay.

The country’s all-time record scorer has been left out of the squad as the former Barcelona coach rips up the old script after the World Cup exit to Morocco. It’s bold, it’s ruthless, and it sets the tone for a Dutch side that suddenly feels a lot less sentimental.

On the pitch, the structure looks familiar enough: a 4-3-3 built around power and pace.

Projected XI:
Netherlands (4-3-3): Bart Verbruggen; Denzel Dumfries, Virgil van Dijk, Micky van de Ven, Nathan Ake; Ryan Gravenberch, Joey Veerman, Tijjani Reijnders; Jeremie Frimpong, Brian Brobbey, Cody Gakpo.

No injuries or suspensions currently cloud Xavi’s plans. The canvas is clean; the choices are his alone.

And then there’s Brian Brobbey. The 24-year-old arrives as anything but a secret. A hat-trick for Sunderland in a wild 5-3 defeat to Manchester City, a bruising display against Premier League champions Arsenal – recent club form has underlined what many already knew: if you let him pin your centre-backs, you’re in trouble.

With Frimpong and Gakpo buzzing around him, the Dutch front line carries real menace. The question is whether that attacking thrust can be balanced with the defensive lapses that cost them at the World Cup.

Klopp’s Germany, stripped back and experimental

On the other side, the Klopp revolution starts with something unusual: two separate 22-man squads for four September and October fixtures against the Netherlands, Greece (twice) and Serbia.

For the Amsterdam clash and the first meeting with Greece on 27 September, the Germany squad reads like a blend of established quality and calculated risk:

Marc-André ter Stegen, Alexander Nübel, Finn Dahmen, Hennes Behrens, Max Rosenfelder, Philipp Treu, Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck, Nathaniel Brown, Josha Vagnoman, Yann-Aurel Bisseck, Joshua Kimmich, Nadiem Amiri, Yannik Engelhardt, Felix Nmecha, Anton Stach, Bambasé Conté, Kai Havertz, Chris Führich, Jamal Musiala, Lennart Karl, Younes Ebnoutalib, Serge Gnabry, Kevin Schade.

The headline in goal is clear. Marc-André ter Stegen is back after a serious injury and finally walks into a Germany camp without Manuel Neuer towering over the depth chart. He has waited years for this moment. Yet he may still have to wrestle the No. 1 shirt from Alexander Nübel, who is tipped to start in Amsterdam.

Projected XI:
Germany (4-2-3-1): Alexander Nübel; Nathaniel Brown, Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck, Joshua Kimmich; Felix Nmecha, Nadiem Amiri; Serge Gnabry, Lennart Karl, Jamal Musiala; Kai Havertz.

Klopp’s use of Kimmich at right-back, the inclusion of relative unknowns like Brown and Karl, and the trust in Musiala and Havertz as the creative core all point to a coach unafraid to redraw the hierarchy. This is not a gentle transition from Julian Nagelsmann. It’s a reset.

Germany report no injuries or suspensions either. Both managers get a full deck for night one.

Form lines and scars from Qatar

Both sides arrive with World Cup scars, but the patterns differ.

The Netherlands have three wins, one draw and one defeat from their last five in all competitions. The high point was a ruthless 5-1 dismantling of Sweden. The low? That 1-1 draw with Morocco at the World Cup that ended in elimination on progression terms. Eleven goals scored, six conceded across that stretch: plenty of firepower, but clear cracks at the back.

Germany’s recent run is more volatile. Two wins, two defeats and that final 1-1 draw against Paraguay which sent them home from the World Cup. A 7-1 demolition of Curacao and a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast showcased their attacking ceiling, yet losses to Ecuador and Paraguay in the knockout phase underlined how brittle they can still be when the pressure rises.

Across those five matches, Germany scored 13 and conceded just five. The numbers suggest control. The exits tell a different story.

Jamal Musiala, at least, brings something close to certainty. Three goal contributions in his last three games for Bayern Munich underline the form he carries into this new international chapter. If Klopp wants his team to run, press and play with chaos, Musiala is the one who can turn that chaos into chances.

Injuries, absences and opportunity

Both squads are largely intact, but not untouched.

For the Netherlands, Justin Kluivert and Donyell Malen have withdrawn through injury. Xavi loses two direct, incisive forwards – exactly the kind of players who could have stretched a new-look German back line.

Germany have seen Brajan Gruda pull out of the squad, trimming one option from Klopp’s attacking rotation. Not a headline absence, but in a camp built around experimentation, every missing piece matters.

The flip side: others step into the spotlight. For the Dutch, that means even more responsibility on Brobbey, Frimpong and Gakpo. For Germany, it sharpens the focus on Gnabry, Havertz and the supporting cast around Musiala.

Old rivalry, new faces

This fixture rarely drifts into the background, even when it’s “only” the Nations League.

The most recent chapter went Germany’s way: a 1-0 win in October 2024 in this very competition. Before that, a 2-2 draw in the Netherlands in September 2024. Across the last five meetings, Germany hold the edge with two wins to one, plus two draws, and 11 goals shared between them.

Now, the stakes are layered. In Group 2 of the UEFA Nations League, Germany sit top. The Netherlands are third and already chasing. For Xavi, this isn’t just a debut; it’s a game that can either ignite a campaign or leave his side staring uphill at the table.

For Klopp, it’s the first real glimpse of what his Germany might look like when the qualifiers and tournaments start to bite. The pressing triggers, the defensive line, the balance between Havertz and Musiala – all of it will be judged from the first whistle.

Amsterdam has seen eras begin and end before. On this night, it watches two at once.