Scoreless draw in Thessaloniki

Germany concluded their fourth match under manager Jürgen Klopp with a 0-0 draw against Greece in Thessaloniki on 4 October 2026. The result followed a 1-0 defeat to Greece in Augsburg one week earlier and left Germany in third place in their Nations League group with five points from four fixtures. The Netherlands and Greece lead the standings with eight points each, placing Germany outside the top two spots required to advance to the quarterfinals. Germany also lost the potential head-to-head tiebreaker against Greece after failing to score across both meetings.

Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, making his second consecutive start, made a save in the second minute to deny a free header from Giorgos Masouras. Germany then controlled possession but struggled to penetrate the Greek defence. David Raum saw a 25th-minute free kick saved by Kostas Tzolakis, while a 32nd-minute goal by Jonathan Burkardt was overturned by a video review for a prior handball. Derry Scherhant missed another opening in the 65th minute.

Lineup adjustments and on-pitch leadership

Klopp made three changes to the starting eleven that had defeated Serbia 2-0 in Munich three days earlier. David Raum, Lennart Karl, and Jonathan Burkardt entered the lineup, replacing Maximilian Mittelstädt, Nick Woltemade, and the injured Serge Gnabry. The midfield trio of Tom Bischof, Aleksandar Pavlović, and Florian Wirtz remained intact. Wirtz, 23 years old, captained the national team for the first time in his 48th international appearance. Waldemar Anton of Borussia Dortmund and Malick Thiaw of Newcastle United started in central defence.

Wirtz expressed frustration over the missed scoring opportunities after the final whistle.

“I think we built up quite a lot of pressure. In the end, we just did not score the damn goal. It is annoying, but we can still be satisfied with how we played.”

Standings and squad reduction for November

Germany enter the final international window of the group stage needing victories to maintain quarterfinal qualification hopes. Klopp initially selected an expanded pool of 44 players across his opening four matches, fielding distinct squads across the window. The German manager announced after the match in Thessaloniki that he will abandon this rotation, selecting a single primary squad centered on captain Joshua Kimmich for the away match in Serbia on 13 November and the home fixture in Berlin against the Netherlands on 16 November.

Netherlands8

Greece8

Germany5

Netherlands

8 points

Greece

8 points

Germany

5 points

Data from the article text

Despite collecting five points from twelve available, Klopp defended the development of the squad during post-match interviews.

“We took a first step. I never would have imagined that after only one week with this group, we would be able to play football like this.”

Viewership and analytical reception

Television viewership in Germany remained high throughout the broadcast. Figures from AGF Videoforschung showed that RTL averaged 9.35 million viewers during the first half (a 35.4% market share) and 10.13 million viewers in the second half (a 46% market share). In the 14-to-49 demographic, the broadcast drew 2.81 million viewers in both halves, reaching a 55.2% share in the second period.

Pundits provided mixed evaluations of the performance. Former national team captain Lothar Matthäus praised the fluidity of the first half while criticizing the finishing and the five-point return. European championship winner Thomas Helmer noted lingering difficulties against deep defensive blocks and an insufficient goal conversion rate across Klopp's first four fixtures.