Germany will be looking to maintain their dominance over rivals Netherlands when both sides kick off their 2026/27 UEFA Nations League campaign tonight at the Johan Cruijff ArenA in Amsterdam. The clash, billed for 20:45 CET today, will mark a new era for both nations.
Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp makes his debut as Germany coach after replacing Julian Nagelsmann following Germany’s disappointing Round-of-32 exit at the 2026 World Cup, while Barcelona legend Xavi Hernandez takes charge of the Netherlands for the first time. Despite both teams crashing out on penalties on the same day at the World Cup, Germany will head into the fixture with historical confidence.
In 48 meetings between both countries, Germany have won 18, drawn 18 and lost just 12 to the Dutch. More importantly, Die Mannschaft are unbeaten in their last four meetings since March 2022 — winning twice and drawing twice. Their last encounter was a 1-0 win in Munich in October 2024 courtesy of Jamie Leweling.
Klopp has named a fresh-looking squad for his first window, including seven uncapped players — goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, defenders Hannes Behrens, Max Rosenfelder and Philipp Treu, midfielders Bambase Conte and Yannik Engelhardt, and Eintracht Frankfurt striker Younes Ebnoutalib. Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Marc-Andre ter Stegen provide the experience.
Netherlands will be without Donyell Malen and Justin Kluivert through injury, but captain Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo, Denzel Dumfries and in-form striker Brian Brobbey — who recently scored a Premier League hat-trick for Sunderland — are all available. Both sides are in Group A2 alongside Serbia and Greece, with the top two progressing to the quarter-finals. A win tonight will be crucial to set the tone for the six-game group stage.