JÜRGEN KLOPP CELEBRATED his first win as Germany coach on Thursday as his side eased to a 2-0 win against Serbia in the third fixture of their Nations League campaign.
Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz and Bayern Munich’s Tom Bischof both found the net as a youthful Germany made short work of a lacklustre Serbia team in Munich.
It was a win that lifted the pressure on the new national team boss, after he began his tenure with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands and a shock 1-0 defeat to Greece last weekend.
A defeat or a draw would have made Klopp the first Germany coach in history not to win any of his first three games in charge.
Instead, victory marked a cautious sense of optimism for the four-time world champions, as they look to return to the international elite under Klopp.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, Freiburg forward Derry Scherhant and Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt all made their national team debuts, while Celtic’s Mika Baur became the 1000th player ever to represent Germany when he came on as a 77th-minute substitute.
The hosts finally broke through shortly before half-time thanks to some elegant footwork from Wirtz.
Wirtz danced through a maze of legs in the box and hit the post, before an unmarked Bischof smashed the ball in on the rebound.
Juventus’s Nick Woltemade should have doubled the lead on 59 minutes but skied the ball high over the bar from a metre in front of goal.
Wirtz spared his blushes a moment later, making space for himself in the box with a brilliant first touch and slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
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The second goal put the win beyond doubt, prompting a Mexican wave to roll around the Munich arena as the clock ticked down.
Bruno Fernandez battling for possession. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Denmark 2-4 Portugal
Portugal put the controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to one side as they edged Denmark 4-2 in the Uefa Nations League on Thursday.
Joao Felix made the win safe late in the second half after the hosts had twice fought back to level.
With the pre-match build-up dominated by five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo’s sudden departure from the team’s training camp on Wednesday, coach Jorge Jesus said before kick-off that he just wanted his side “to focus on the match”.
His team showed no signs of being distracted by the furore caused by the 41-year-old’s walk-out after Jesus announced Ronaldo would not start the match against Denmark.
Portugal’s record goalscorer had already spent all of Sunday’s 2-1 Nations League win in Norway on the bench, having captained the side in the 1-0 home victory over Wales last Thursday.
Jesus, himself, said Thursday: “After (the match), we’ll definitely have time to talk about” the situation.
On the pitch, Joao Cancelo opened the scoring for Portugal inside 13 minutes, before Mikkel Damsgaard curled in a leveller 10 minutes later.
Goncalo Ramos repaid Jesus’s faith in starting him again up front by restoring his country’s lead two minutes later with a cute near-post finish.
Rasmus Hojlund equalised for Denmark early in the second period, but Paris Saint-Germain lynchpin Vitinha nodded the visitors back in front in the 57th minute.
Substitute Felix then tucked home at the end of a swift counter-attack with three minutes remaining to give new boss Jesus a third win from his first three matches.
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Neco Williams wheels away in celebration after scoring the winning goal for Wales. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Wales 2-1 Norway
Wales ended their long wait for a Nations League A win by beating Norway 2-1 in Cardiff.
Oscar Bobb put the World Cup quarter-finalists ahead inside 11 minutes, but Wales took advantage of Norway being reduced to 10 when Torjbjorn Heggem was sent off to claim their first victory of 2026.
Daniel James levelled before the break and Neco Williams lashed home a free-kick moments after Heggem was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
This was Wales’ ninth match in the top tier of the Nations League spread over two campaigns, coming after one draw and seven defeats.
The win will relieve the pressure on manager Craig Bellamy, who had not tasted success since North Macedonia were thrashed in a World Cup qualifier last November.
Wales also kept Erling Haaland quiet as Norway’s talisman drew a rare international blank.
Meanwhile, the other game in Ireland’s Group B3 ended in a goalless draw between Israel and Kosovo. Austria lead that group with seven points after tonight’s draw with Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men at the Aviva Stadium. Kosovo are second on four points with a superior scoring difference to Ireland.
In Group A2, Greece and the Netherlands played out a 2-2 draw. Greece took the lead with two first-half goals by Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk launched the Dutch comeback with a goal in the 59th minute before Tijjani Reijnders grabbed the equaliser in the closing stages.
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Portugal edge Denmark after Ronaldo departure as Klopp earns first Germany win
Nations League
Germany 2-0 Serbia
JÜRGEN KLOPP CELEBRATED his first win as Germany coach on Thursday as his side eased to a 2-0 win against Serbia in the third fixture of their Nations League campaign.
Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz and Bayern Munich’s Tom Bischof both found the net as a youthful Germany made short work of a lacklustre Serbia team in Munich.
It was a win that lifted the pressure on the new national team boss, after he began his tenure with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands and a shock 1-0 defeat to Greece last weekend.
A defeat or a draw would have made Klopp the first Germany coach in history not to win any of his first three games in charge.
Instead, victory marked a cautious sense of optimism for the four-time world champions, as they look to return to the international elite under Klopp.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, Freiburg forward Derry Scherhant and Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt all made their national team debuts, while Celtic’s Mika Baur became the 1000th player ever to represent Germany when he came on as a 77th-minute substitute.
The hosts finally broke through shortly before half-time thanks to some elegant footwork from Wirtz.
Wirtz danced through a maze of legs in the box and hit the post, before an unmarked Bischof smashed the ball in on the rebound.
Juventus’s Nick Woltemade should have doubled the lead on 59 minutes but skied the ball high over the bar from a metre in front of goal.
Wirtz spared his blushes a moment later, making space for himself in the box with a brilliant first touch and slotting the ball into the bottom corner.
The second goal put the win beyond doubt, prompting a Mexican wave to roll around the Munich arena as the clock ticked down.
Denmark 2-4 Portugal
Portugal put the controversy surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to one side as they edged Denmark 4-2 in the Uefa Nations League on Thursday.
Joao Felix made the win safe late in the second half after the hosts had twice fought back to level.
With the pre-match build-up dominated by five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo’s sudden departure from the team’s training camp on Wednesday, coach Jorge Jesus said before kick-off that he just wanted his side “to focus on the match”.
His team showed no signs of being distracted by the furore caused by the 41-year-old’s walk-out after Jesus announced Ronaldo would not start the match against Denmark.
Portugal’s record goalscorer had already spent all of Sunday’s 2-1 Nations League win in Norway on the bench, having captained the side in the 1-0 home victory over Wales last Thursday.
Jesus, himself, said Thursday: “After (the match), we’ll definitely have time to talk about” the situation.
On the pitch, Joao Cancelo opened the scoring for Portugal inside 13 minutes, before Mikkel Damsgaard curled in a leveller 10 minutes later.
Goncalo Ramos repaid Jesus’s faith in starting him again up front by restoring his country’s lead two minutes later with a cute near-post finish.
Rasmus Hojlund equalised for Denmark early in the second period, but Paris Saint-Germain lynchpin Vitinha nodded the visitors back in front in the 57th minute.
Substitute Felix then tucked home at the end of a swift counter-attack with three minutes remaining to give new boss Jesus a third win from his first three matches.
Wales 2-1 Norway
Wales ended their long wait for a Nations League A win by beating Norway 2-1 in Cardiff.
Oscar Bobb put the World Cup quarter-finalists ahead inside 11 minutes, but Wales took advantage of Norway being reduced to 10 when Torjbjorn Heggem was sent off to claim their first victory of 2026.
Daniel James levelled before the break and Neco Williams lashed home a free-kick moments after Heggem was shown a straight red card for denying a goalscoring opportunity.
This was Wales’ ninth match in the top tier of the Nations League spread over two campaigns, coming after one draw and seven defeats.
The win will relieve the pressure on manager Craig Bellamy, who had not tasted success since North Macedonia were thrashed in a World Cup qualifier last November.
Wales also kept Erling Haaland quiet as Norway’s talisman drew a rare international blank.
Meanwhile, the other game in Ireland’s Group B3 ended in a goalless draw between Israel and Kosovo. Austria lead that group with seven points after tonight’s draw with Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men at the Aviva Stadium. Kosovo are second on four points with a superior scoring difference to Ireland.
In Group A2, Greece and the Netherlands played out a 2-2 draw. Greece took the lead with two first-half goals by Fotis Ioannidis and Giorgos Masouras. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk launched the Dutch comeback with a goal in the 59th minute before Tijjani Reijnders grabbed the equaliser in the closing stages.
– © AFP 2026
Additional reporting by Press Association
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