Germany coach Klopp under pressure as captain Kimmich is sent home

Background

Jürgen Klopp took over as Germany's national team head coach (Bundestrainer) this summer, just months after the team's disappointing World Cup exit. His first two Nations League matches ended without a win — a 1:1 draw against the Netherlands and a 0:1 loss to Greece, according to sportschau.de.

Kimmich rested

Ahead of Thursday's match against Serbia in Munich (kick-off 20:45), Klopp decided to rest captain Joshua Kimmich, who has led the national team for the past two years. Kimmich will miss both the Serbia game and the return fixture in Greece on October 4. "I was hoping to stay until the last moment and would of course have liked to stay. But I understand that the coach simply wants to get to know the other guys as well," Kimmich said after the loss to Greece, as reported by Joyn. SZ.de notes that Kimmich's absence in Munich — a city where his own home is located — has sparked extensive debate about how he will spend the match evening.

Sportschau.de additionally reports that defensive leader Jonathan Tah and goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen have also left the squad ahead of this match, while defender Nico Schlotterbeck was injured in the final training session and was withdrawn from the squad entirely.

Who will be captain?

Kimmich's absence has created a new question: who will lead the team on the pitch? Klopp gave only a partial answer at his press conference, saying the team would be led by the player with the most caps. Among the remaining squad, Serge Gnabry has the most appearances (61), followed by Florian Wirtz (46) and David Raum (39). According to a report by German newspaper "BILD", Gnabry is expected to wear the captain's armband. Former international Lothar Matthäus criticized Klopp's decision to send Kimmich home in his column, arguing the captain should have stayed to help introduce newcomers to the team.

A young, inexperienced squad

The starting lineup against Serbia could become one of the youngest and least internationally experienced in German history — nine of the 23 called-up players have yet to make their national team debut. Should Germany fail to beat Serbia as well, the team faces a greater risk of relegation from League A of the Nations League, and Klopp could become the first Bundestrainer in 100 years to start his tenure without a win in three consecutive matches.