Germany alive in Nations League after win over Serbia

Germany remain in contention for a spot in the Nations League quarter-finals after a commanding 3-1 win against Serbia on Friday evening.

It was a second win for coach Jürgen Klopp since he replaced Julian Nagelsmann after Germany's disappointing World Cup earlier this year. The first victory also came against Serbia in their first leg in October.

"The team played a really, really great game. We still have to get a little bit used to it, that we're very good, that we can be very good," Klopp told broadcasters RTL.

Germany set the tone early on and broke the deadlock in the third minute after Srdan Babić deflected Kai Havertz's header into the net.

Florian Wirtz doubled their lead in the 14th as Klopp and his players headed into the break with a feeling they could have scored more goals.

Debutant Brajan Gruda had a fine effort in the 50th to make it 3-0, before Babić made up for his earlier mistake by pulling one back for Serbia in the 56th.

But the Serbians went down to 10 men after Vanja Dragojević was sent off in the 76th minute. Andrija Zivković also saw red in the 89th.

Germany remain third in Group A2 but now tied with second-placed Greece on eight points. Leader Netherlands are on 11 points after thrashing the Greek 7-0 and Serbia are last with no points. 

The top two teams advance to the quarter-finals, while the bottom two are either relegated to League B or have to fight for League A survival in the play-offs. Germany, however, are at least safe from direct relegation.

Next up for the Germans is a crucial clash against the Netherlands in Berlin on Monday.

"I think the first half was really good, we played good football. We had problems after the break, things got hectic. But it was a highly deserved win, we will take it," captain Joshua Kimmich told RTL.

Asked if the game against the Netherlands will be like a final, he said: "Absolutely. We have to win."

The game

The match barely kicked off and Germany already had the lead. Havertz met a corner with a header, but the ball took a deflection onto Babić before crossing the line with only three minutes on the clock.

Havertz again got close to adding his name to the scoresheet, but his effort was saved by the goalkeeper. The rebound, however, was collected by Wirtz, who didn't miss his chance.

Germany took a comfortable lead into half-time but the score didn't reflect their dominance on the pitch.

They found the target again in the 50th, as Gruda crowned his senior debut in style. He won possession inside his own half and sprinted forward, leaving the marker behind. After avoiding a challenge on the edge of the box, he drilled a low shot into the bottom-right corner.

Babić added a second to his name, but this time he hit the right target after collecting the rebound from Stefan Gudelj.

But any ambitions of a comeback were put to end after Dragojević was sent off following video review for a harsh tackle on Kimmich.

Zivković was also sent off after receiving two yellow cards for complaining within seconds.

The match was played behind closed doors after Serbia were handed a sanction due to racist and discriminatory behaviour by their fans. But around 5,000 guests, most of them kids under 15 years old accompanied by teachers or football coaches, were allowed to attend the game.