The German national team is set to play its third match under Jürgen Klopp on Thursday evening. At 8:45 p.m., the DFB team will face Serbia in Munich and is still waiting for its first win in the Nations League after the first two matches.
From FC Bayern’s perspective, all eyes are on Jonas Urbig. The 23-year-old will be in goal for the German senior national team for the first time in his career. Klopp had already announced before the match that he would put his trust in the Munich player against Serbia.
Alongside Urbig, three other Bayern pros—Aleksandar Pavlovic, Tom Bischof, and Serge Gnabry—are in the German starting lineup. Gnabry will also lead the newly assembled team onto the field as captain.
Urbig is making his DFB debut
Klopp is thus continuing his rotation at the goalkeeper position. Following Marc-André ter Stegen and Alexander Nübel in the first two matches, Urbig is already the third goalkeeper to start under the new national team coach.
For the Bayern goalkeeper, this appearance marks another milestone in his still-young career. At the German record champions, Urbig is being groomed as the long-term successor to Manuel Neuer. Now, for the first time, he’ll have the chance to show what he’s made of on the big DFB stage.
Pavlovic and Bischof are also getting their chances.
Klopp expects a similar challenge against Serbia as in the recent 0-1 loss to Greece. “The approach won’t be much different from what the Greeks did. We had to be extremely dominant, had an overwhelming amount of possession—and as a result, we were able to learn what needed to be learned,” the national team coach explained before the match.
Gnabry leads the DFB team as captain
Gnabry has a special role to play. Since regular captain Joshua Kimmich is not part of the second squad for this international break, the Bayern Munich pro will wear the armband against Serbia.
Klopp had made changes to his roster in numerous positions for the second half of the international break. The 59-year-old hopes to get to know more players and see how the team performs without several established leaders.
In addition to Urbig, there is a second debutant against Serbia: Freiburg’s Derry Scherhant will take the field for the German senior national team for the first time.
The DFB starting lineup against Serbia
Urbig – Mittelstädt, Thiaw, Anton, Treu – Pavlovic, Wirtz, Bischof – Scherhant, Woltemade, Gnabry (C)