Brajan Gruda scored on his Germany debut, and a win over the Netherlands on Monday will take Klopp’s side through
Serbia finished with nine men in an almost empty stadium in Belgrade, and Germany go into the last round of Group A2 level on points with Greece and three behind the Netherlands.
Nov 14, 2026
Brajan Gruda started his first game for Germany on Friday, 13 November, and scored in it. His solo goal made it 3-0 in Belgrade, Serbia pulled one back, and Germany won 3-1 to keep their Nations League quarter-final hopes going into the last round.
Jürgen Klopp had one win from four games before kick-off. He now has two wins, two draws and a defeat from five, and Germany host the Netherlands in Berlin on Monday, 16 November, knowing a win will take them through.
Two up inside 14 minutes
Germany led in the third minute. Maximilian Mittelstädt took a corner, Kai Havertz headed it towards goal and Srđan Babić turned it into his own net. Havertz was involved in the second too: Vanja Milinković-Savić saved his shot in the 14th minute and Florian Wirtz followed up to score.
Gruda’s goal came five minutes after half-time. The RB Leipzig winger picked up the ball in his own half, ran at the Serbia defence and finished with a low shot from around 18 metres. “It was a dream of mine and my family’s, and then scoring a goal on top of that is fantastic,” he said afterwards.
Babić scored at the right end in the 56th minute, from close range after a set piece. Serbia were more aggressive after the break, but they finished with nine men. Vanja Dragojević was sent off in the 76th minute after a VAR review of his tackle on Joshua Kimmich, and Andrija Živković went a minute from time.
The Rajko Mitić Stadium was close to empty. UEFA had ordered Serbia to play behind closed doors after racist and discriminatory behaviour by their fans in the earlier games against Greece and the Netherlands. An exception in the rules let children in, and they made up most of the small crowd.
Kimmich captained, and Klopp was happy
Kimmich, who played no part in the previous two games, came back as captain and played in midfield next to Aleksandar Pavlović. “Almost the whole game was played in the opposition half,” he said, adding that moving a five-man defence around “isn’t always easy”.
Klopp liked what he saw. “We have to get used to the fact that we can be really good,” he said. “Of course we can score more goals, but right now that doesn’t matter to me at all.”
What Germany need in Berlin
The Netherlands thrashed Greece 7-0 in Amsterdam at the same time, so they lead Group A2 with 11 points. Germany and Greece are both on eight, and only the top two reach the quarter-finals.
Head-to-head record decides ties, and Greece have the better of Germany after a 1-0 win in Augsburg in September and a goalless draw in Thessaloniki a week later. So a win over the Netherlands puts Germany through, and a defeat knocks them out. A draw is only enough if Serbia beat Greece in Volos at the same time.
Kick-off at the Olympiastadion is 8:45pm local time, which is 1:15am IST on Tuesday, 17 November.