BELGRADE — Germany cruised to a 3-1 win against Serbia in Belgrade in the UEFA Nations League, setting up a crunch clash with the Netherlands in Berlin on Monday.
In teeming rain in an almost empty stadium, the Germans forced Serbia’s Srdan Babic into an early own goal with Florian Wirtz and debutant Brajan Gruda also scoring.
Babic made up for his blunder with a second-half consolation strike, while Serbia finished with nine men after substitutes Vanja Dragojevic and Andrija Zivkovic were sent off late on.
The Netherlands’ 7-0 annihilation of Greece in Amsterdam means the Germans will likely need to win on Monday to reach the quarter-finals, unless Serbia beat the Greeks away from home.
Germany have now won twice, drawn twice and lost once in five games under coach Jurgen Klopp, who was optimistic the side were beginning to take shape under his tutelage.
“We played a truly fantastic game. I think we need to get a bit more used to the fact that we’re genuinely good — and capable of being very, very good,” Klopp told RTL.
“Our counter-pressing was superb, and the intensity was top-notch. So, from my point of view, it was a really, really good game,” he added according to AFP.
“We wanted to qualify for that ‘final’ in Berlin, and now we have… It’s great. We’re looking forward to it, and we have a wealth of options to choose from.”
Serbia are guaranteed to finish bottom of the group after a fifth loss in a row.
“It was very difficult for Serbia, who certainly aren’t at their best right now,” Klopp said.
“And yet, in games like this, you can easily end up hurting yourself – but we didn’t.”
