Cody Gakpo’s 92nd minute equaliser earned the Netherlands a 1-1 draw against Germany in the first Nations League clash.
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Xavi decided to name a familiar looking line up for his first game in charge of Oranje with the line-up mostly resembling those who played at the World Cup. Quinten Timber was the surprise selection in midfield.
The Netherlands thought they had the lead in the 14th minute when Virgil van Dijk found the net. However, VAR intervened and deemed that Brian Brobbey was obstructing Marc Andre Ter Stegen.
After half an hour, Germany, who had Jurgen Klopp as manager for the first time, took the lead. The Netherlands players seemed to stop with Brobbey injured on the ground but Germany played on and Felix Nmecha made it 1-0.
Brobbey then had to go off and Mexx Meerdink made his debut in Oranje. Karim Adeyemi should have made it 2-0 before the break but he couldn’t convert into an empty net.
In the second half, the Netherlands looked for an equaliser but they missed chance after chance. Meerdink had a goal disallowed, again for a soft foul, while the AZ striker also hit the post and put the ball wide from in front of the goal.
With seven minutes left, Ruben van Bommel made his debut, while Guus Til was also thrown on in search of a goal. Van Bommel played a role in the equaliser which came in the 92nd minute as his incredible outside of the boot cross was scored by Cody Gakpo.
The Netherlands then nearly won it as Til headed a cross from Joey Veerman just wide.
A draw for Xavi in his first game in charge with a clash against Serbia next on Sunday.
> FT Netherlands 1-1 GermanyA moment of absolute magic from Van Bommel on his debut as his outside of the boot cross is scored by Gakpo in the 92nd minute.
>
> A draw in Xavi's first game in charge but should have been more with the number of chances missed.
>
> — Dutch Football 🇳🇱 (@FootballOranje\_) [September 24, 2026](https://x.com/FootballOranje_/status/2103223812573499463?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
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