Jürgen Klopp starts Germany job with shaky Netherlands draw
5 days ago
It looked, until the final moments, as though Germany would somehow hold on and grant Jürgen Klopp a victory in his first game as Germany coach.
"It felt mostly good," Klopp told German broadcaster RTL after the match, with his voice strained after a typically energetic display on the sidelines. "That was really exhausting for both teams today." He added that he naturally wanted a win but that he can "live with the point, too."
In the end, an injury time Cody Gakpo goal meant Klopp and his team had to settle for a 1-1 draw in their Nations League opener against the Netherlands . While the timing of the equalizer will sting, Germany was second best for much of the contest, which turned a ill-tempered at times. Nevertheless, Klopp was upbeat.
"I was very, very, very satisfied with many of the individual performances," he said, before admitting that "we can play better football and create more chances — that's for sure."
Gakpo plays his club football for Liverpool, where Klopp coached for more than eight years . So too does Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk, who thought he'd opened the scoring for the hosts early on, only to see his headed goal ruled out. A close-range finish from Lukas Nmecha then gave Germany the lead but not control of the game.
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