Jurgen Klopp and Xavi shared the spoils on their international debuts as the Netherlands held out a dramatic 1-1 draw late on. League of Nations draw against Germany
Klopp, in charge of his native Germany, and Barcelona icon Xavi, taking over from the Dutch, were in action for the first time since their post-World Cup dates.
Klopp looked set for an early win before his ex-Liverpool winger Cody Gakpo equalized in added time.
The occasion was soured, however, by a pair of first-half injury strikes to key Premier League forwards.
Arsenal striker Kai Havertz was sent off early in Amsterdam after taking a high boot to the knee from Quinten Timber. Moments later, Sunderland frontman Brian Brobbey, fresh from scoring a sensational hat-trick against Manchester City, pulled up with an apparent muscle problem and had to be substituted.
On the pitch, Germany struck first through Felix Nmecha, who converted from close range before the break to give Klopp a dream start.
The Dutchman pushed his way back and Xavi found his spark from the bench. Late substitute Rúben van Bommel made history as the third generation of his family to represent the Dutch, following father Mark van Bommel and grandfather Bert van Marwijk, and delivered when it mattered most. The debutant delivered a pinpoint cross in stoppage time for Gakpo to convert.
“We have to accept the result,” Klopp said. “Although I really wanted to win, I made the draw.
“There were two teams, two very good football teams, in the same situation. They both wanted to show that things are not as bad as they look at the moment. And that was shown in the game.”
“I was very, very, very pleased with a lot of the individual performances. Overall, I was very happy with the passion we showed. We can play better and play more football, that’s for sure.”