Jurgen Klopp is still searching for his first win as Germany head coach after his home debut ended in a historic defeat against Greece
Jurgen Klopp, Head Coach of Germany, reacts the UEFA Nations League match against Greece
Jurgen Klopp's Germany suffered a shock defeat against Greece on Sunday night(Image: Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp 's first home game in charge of Germany ended in a historic defeat.
The 59-year-old left his position as manager of Liverpool at the end of the 2023/24 season before he went on to take up a new role as Red Bull's head of global soccer. Now, he's returned to the dugout for the first time as head coach of the German national team.
Klopp's task was far from straightforward given the team's dismal run at the FIFA World Cup. Germany hardly set the world alight under Julian Nagelsmann and was knocked out in the Round of 32 of the competition following a penalty shootout defeat against Paraguay.
The ex-Liverpool boss is now leading a new era, but Germany's Nations League campaign has arguably got off to the worst possible start. Midweek, it conceded late against the Netherlands to draw 1-1 in Amsterdam.
Felix Nmecha initially gave the visitors the lead, but Germany was undone late on by one of Klopp's former players in Cody Gakpo. The winger got on the end of an outrageous cross in stoppage time to level the scoreline.
Things have now gone from bad to worse against Greece with a first defeat against the nation in history. Although Germany was the better side for the first 45 minutes in Augsburg, it failed to make its dominance count.
A little after the 70th minute, Greece found its breakthrough. A low, driven effort from Dimitris Kourbelis found the back of the net and Germany was unable to respond.
Florian Wirtz (L) looks on with team mate Karim Adeyemi during a Team Germany training session
Florian Wirtz joined up with the Germany squad early and featured in the defeat against Greece(Image: Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)
Florian Wirtz featured as a second-half substitute but was unable to make the desired impact. His night was summed up late in the game by a wayward shot from the edge of the area that was miles off target.
Of course, Wirtz joined up with the national team early after he was initially named in Klopp's second squad for the final two games of the international break. The manager, in total, has called up 44 players across two separate squads to help manage player loads, but Wirtz arrived early following an injury to Kai Havertz.
Now, a fresh set of players will have the opportunity to impress the manager over the remaining two games. Germany hosts Serbia on Thursday night before an away trip to face Greece next Sunday.
However, there's now little room for error for Klopp and Germany as it sits third in its Nations League group. Greece is top with two wins from two, followed by the Netherlands after its win over Serbia in the other game on Sunday evening.