Germany conclude international break with goalless draw with Greece

Germany concluded the first international break of the season with a goalless draw against Greece in the Nations League on Sunday evening in Thessaloniki.

The goal that could have been the winner was ruled out after video review in the first half. Jonathan Burkardt had the ball into the net in the 32nd, but his effort didn't count due to a handball in the build-up.

Germany faced Greece last week in Augsburg and were beaten 1-0. Under new coach Jürgen Klopp, who replaced Julian Nagelsmann after the World Cup, the Germans were also held to a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands and beat Serbia 2-0.

The Netherlands beat Serbia 2-1 on Sunday to take the lead in Group A2. They're tied on eight points with Greece, while Germany are third with five points.

Despite the setback, Klopp was satisfied with his players: "The guys played an incredible football game, it was top-notch in every aspect, really top-notch," he told broadcaster RTL.

Wirtz: 'It's not all bad'

Germany needed some time before they could threaten, but started showing offensive power in the 20th minute.

Captain Florian Wirtz rose high and headed the ball towards the left corner, where Burkardt was completely out of position and inadvertently blocked the attempt.

Five minutes later, goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis was forced into a brilliant save to deny David Raum's powerful left-footed volley.

Germany broke the deadlock in the 32nd, after Derry Scherhant did the heavy work on the left to beat the defender before crossing the ball into the box to Burkardt, who thought he had his first international goal. But because of a handball in the build-up, his effort was ruled out.

Before the break, Scherhant tried his luck from distance, but narrowly missed the target.

A slow second half lacked any big moves. Philipp Treu had a good chance to give Germany the lead in the 56th after receiving a ball from Wirtz, but he opted for a cross instead of a shot to the goal and the defence cleared the danger.

"In the end, we didn't score a goal, that's annoying. Overall, we can be happy," said Wirtz, who was leading Germany as captain for the first time.

"You can't forget that we've been together for only a week. Of course, we wanted to score, wanted to go back home with a win, but it's not all bad."

For his first international break in charge of the team, Klopp named a two-part squad, with only a few players in both of them. The second group, which beat Serbia on Thursday and played on Sunday, got together only last Monday.

Germany's next game is against Serbia on November 13, and they conclude the Nations League group stage against the Netherlands on November 16.