Netherlands vs Germany Preview: Two New Managers, One Old Rivalry, and a Goalkeeper Keeping Goal at His Own Club Ground
The 2026/27 Nations League opens in Amsterdam with both dugouts occupied by men who have never taken charge of a competitive international match. Xavi Hernández was appointed by the KNVB on 12 August after Ronald Koeman stepped down; Jürgen Klopp took over from Julian Nagelsmann in July. Both countries went out of the 2026 World Cup in the round of 32 on penalties — on the same day — and both are now trying to find out what they are under a new head coach. Germany have the better of this fixture historically. They also have a goalkeeper who spent the summer joining Ajax on loan and will now keep goal in Amsterdam against the Netherlands.
Two Squads Built for a Four-Game Window
Klopp has taken an unusual approach to his first camp. On 17 September he named 44 players across two separate groups — 16 of them uncapped — and insisted it is not an A group and a B group. The first group plays the Netherlands and Greece; the second handles Serbia and Greece away. “It’s very unusual that you’ve got four games in two weeks with the national team,” he said in Frankfurt. “I want to get to know as many players as possible in that time.”
The consequence for Thursday is that Florian Wirtz, Nick Woltemade and Aleksandar Pavlović are simply not in the group travelling to Amsterdam. Marc-André ter Stegen is, and he has been confirmed as first choice after Manuel Neuer’s international retirement. The detail worth knowing: ter Stegen joined Ajax on a season-long loan from Barcelona over the summer, so his first competitive start for Germany in the Klopp era comes on the pitch he plays his club football on. Joshua Kimmich keeps the armband — he has 114 caps and has been listed as a midfielder rather than at right-back, where Nagelsmann largely used him.
Xavi’s first squad, named on 18 September, is a 26-man group and it is the selection that drew the attention. Memphis Depay, the country’s all-time leading scorer with 55 goals in 112 appearances, is not in it. Neither are Wout Weghorst, Stefan de Vrij, Marten de Roon or Steven Bergwijn. Joey Veerman is back in after a fallout with Koeman kept him out of the World Cup squad, and PSV winger Ruben van Bommel — son of Belgium head coach Mark van Bommel — plus Feyenoord midfielder Gjivai Zechiël are in line for first caps. Virgil van Dijk, 35, stays on as captain after speaking directly with the new coach about it, and has since said he intends to continue to Euro 2028.
Head-to-Head: The Last Five
| Date | Competition | Result | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 Oct 2024 | Nations League 2024/25 | Germany 1-0 Netherlands | Germany |
| 10 Sep 2024 | Nations League 2024/25 | Netherlands 2-2 Germany | Draw |
| 26 Mar 2024 | International friendly | Germany 2-1 Netherlands | Germany |
| 29 Mar 2022 | International friendly | Netherlands 1-1 Germany | Draw |
| 6 Sep 2019 | EURO 2020 qualifying | Germany 2-4 Netherlands | Netherlands |
Germany have won two of the last five and lost one, with two draws. Across all 48 meetings the record reads 18 wins for Germany, 12 for the Netherlands and 18 draws, with goals at 90-79 to Germany. The most recent competitive meetings both came in the 2024/25 Nations League group stage, when these sides were drawn together: 2-2 in Amsterdam, then a 1-0 Germany win in Munich.
Four Things to Watch
1. Depay is out, and the Netherlands’ centre-forward is a question mark
Removing a 55-goal record scorer from a squad is a decision, not a detail. With Depay and Weghorst both omitted, the man leading the line looks like Brian Brobbey of Sunderland, who scored a hat-trick in his side’s defeat at Manchester City this month. Cody Gakpo, Crysencio Summerville and the recalled Veerman supply the rest of the front three, with van Bommel and Zechiël waiting for debuts from the bench.
2. Klopp’s Germany is missing its most creative names for this one
Wirtz, Woltemade and Pavlović are in the other group, so the creative load falls on Jamal Musiala, who has three goal contributions in his last three matches for Bayern Munich, plus Serge Gnabry, Kevin Schade and the 18-year-old Lennart Karl. Kai Havertz leads the line. Leroy Sané, Deniz Undav, Leon Goretzka and goalkeeper Oliver Baumann were left out entirely, and Neuer, Antonio Rüdiger and Pascal Groß have all retired from international football.
3. A defence with an unsettled right side
Jurriën Timber sat out a session in Zeist with a groin problem that Arsenal and the Dutch staff are managing between them, which is why Denzel Dumfries is expected at right-back rather than pushed on as a wing-back. On the other side, Frenkie de Jong is not in the squad at all — he is expected back for Barcelona in mid-October — and neither are Xavi Simons, Matthijs de Ligt, Jerdy Schouten, Ian Maatsen or Mats Wieffer. Justin Kluivert and Donyell Malen both withdrew injured on Sunday evening and were replaced by Guus Til and Mexx Meerdink.
4. Four games in eleven days for both
There is no settling-in period. The Netherlands travel to Serbia on 27 September, then Greece away on 1 October and Serbia at home on 4 October. Germany host Greece in Augsburg on 27 September, then Serbia in Munich on 1 October and Greece away on 4 October. Two of the six group games will be done before October, in a format where there is very little time to recover a bad start.
Predicted Lineups
Neither side had confirmed a starting eleven at the time of writing. The Netherlands selection below follows the projected XI published by RotoWire, which matches the version FotMob is carrying; goal.com differs at left-back and on the right wing. The Germany XI follows RotoWire; The Football Faithful and ToffeeWeb publish a different goalkeeper and a different front four. Treat all of it as provisional.
Netherlands
- Verbruggen
- Dumfries, Van Hecke, Van Dijk, Van de Ven
- Veerman, Gravenberch, Reijnders
- Summerville, Brobbey, Gakpo
Alternatives: Nathan Aké at the back, Jeremie Frimpong on the right, Teun Koopmeiners in midfield. Doubtful: Jurrien Timber (groin). Unavailable: Frenkie de Jong, Xavi Simons, De Ligt, Schouten, Maatsen, Wieffer, Kluivert, Malen.
Germany
- ter Stegen
- Treu, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Brown
- Kimmich, Nmecha
- Adeyemi, Musiala, Schade
- Havertz
Alternatives: Alexander Nübel in goal, Yann Bisseck at centre-back, Serge Gnabry or Nadiem Amiri wide. RotoWire reports Adeyemi and Karl swapped groups after the announcement, putting Adeyemi in this squad. One outlet still lists Schlotterbeck as a long-term absentee, so that centre-back slot is the least settled part of the XI.
Key Battle: Van Dijk Against Havertz
The Netherlands captain has spent the week explaining why he is still here. He met Xavi, decided in what he described as a matter of seconds that he wanted to continue, and has now talked about playing on to Euro 2028 — the year he turns 37. The man most likely to test that decision is Havertz, who leads Germany’s line in every projected XI and whose movement between the lines is the reference point for how Klopp wants his front line to work. Behind Van Dijk there is a goalkeeper question of his own: Bart Verbruggen is expected to start, but he plays his club football in England while ter Stegen, opposite him, is about to keep goal on his own club ground. If Van Dijk wins the early duels and the Dutch midfield of Gravenberch and Reijnders gets on the ball, the home side can pin Germany in. If Havertz drags him into channels and Musiala arrives underneath, the Netherlands’ rebuilt back line — without De Ligt and quite possibly without Timber — is in for a long evening.
Kit Note: Orange at Home, White and Black for the Visitors
Both countries are well stocked in the shop. The Netherlands rail runs from the current home shirt through the away kit and the kids sizes, and finishes with a 1980s throwback carrying a number four on the back — the shirt of the captain who will be out there on Thursday. Germany’s rail is deeper: home and away for 2026/27, the captain’s print, a forward’s print, and the goalkeeper shirt. Everything below is live in the shop and priced the same across every size, so browse the rails.
Netherlands — current home and away, kids sizes, and a 1980s throwback
Swipe to browse 4 Netherlands shirts
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Germany 2026/27 — home, away, the captain’s print, a forward’s print and the goalkeeper shirt
Swipe to browse 5 Germany shirts
