Jürgen Klopp, Germany’s men’s national football coach, already has his starting line-up in mind for the Nations League match against Serbia on Friday, but he’s not talking.
“If nothing happens overnight, I know how we will start,” Klopp told reporters on Thursday ahead of the match, which starts at 8:45 pm (1945 GMT) at the Belgrade stadium.
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Klopp, 59, did not confirm the expected appearance of captain Joshua Kimmich. However, he lavished praise on the star player.
“Jo Kimmich is a superplayer.”
Kimmich was not in the squad that beat Serbia 2-0 in the first leg in Munich. At that game, Kimmich’s Bayern colleagues Aleksandar Pavlović and Tom Bischof put in top midfield performances alongside Florian Wirtz. Klopp called that game just a “blueprint” for him.
The German coach had already committed to Marc-André ter Stegen as the number one goalkeeper when nominating the squad. He had also confirmed Bayern player Jonathan Tah in defence.
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Aim: a “final” against the Netherlands
Klopp’s immediate goal is to keep alive the German team’s chances of reaching the Nations League quarter-finals with a second win against the winless Serbs.
“We feel well prepared,” Klopp said after four training sessions. He said everyone wants to earn “a final” for the last group game on Monday in Berlin against the Netherlands.
Klopp said the fifth international match under his leadership was a test of how far the team has come. He regretted that only several thousand Serbian children will be admitted to the stadium because of a spectator ban.