Klopp earns first Germany win as Portugal progresses without Ronaldo
Florian Wirtz scored as Germany beat Serbia 2-0 in Munich, giving Klopp his first victory in his third match in charge and avoiding an unwanted record.
Jürgen Klopp secured his first victory as Germany coach, while Portugal advanced with a convincing win over Denmark without veteran forward Cristiano Ronaldo in the Nations League yesterday (1 October).
Florian Wirtz scored as Germany beat Serbia 2-0 in Munich, giving Klopp his first victory in his third match in charge and avoiding an unwanted record.
The 59-year-old had opened his tenure with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands before Germany suffered a surprise 1-0 loss to Greece on Sunday.
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Germany produced a disciplined and energetic performance against Serbia, reflecting the high-intensity style Klopp wants to establish.
"That's going in my archive. We'll make a video out of it now," Klopp said. "That's how we want to play."
Germany created several chances before Tom Bischof opened the scoring in the 39th minute, finishing the rebound after Wirtz's effort struck the post.
Klopp introduced Said El Mala after halftime for his Germany debut. Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig and Freiburg forward Derry Scherhant also made their international debuts.
Wirtz doubled Germany's lead after receiving Maximilian Mittelstädt's cross. He controlled the ball past a defender with his first touch before finding the inside of the right post with his second.
"It was important to win again, just for the spirit in the team, and to send a signal out that we're good football players and also a good football nation," Wirtz said.
Netherlands held by Greece
Tijjani Reijnders scored in the 89th minute as the Netherlands came from behind to draw 2-2 with Greece in Thessaloniki in the other Group A2 match.
Fotis Ioannidis scored one goal and assisted on the other for Greece, while Virgil van Dijk scored before Reijnders rescued a point for the Netherlands.
The Dutch side had also needed a late equalizer in its previous match against Germany.
Greece remained top of Group A2 after recording away wins over Serbia and Germany.
Portugal wins without Ronaldo.
Portugal defeated Denmark 4-2 in Copenhagen as João Félix sealed the victory late, with Ronaldo absent from the squad.
Ronaldo left the team a day earlier following an apparent dispute with coach Jorge Jesus, raising questions over his future with the national side.
Gonçalo Ramos, who replaced the 41-year-old forward, assisted João Cancelo for Portugal's opening goal before scoring the team's second two minutes after Mikkel Damsgaard equalized in the 23rd minute.
Rasmus Højlund leveled again in the 53rd, but Vitinha restored Portugal's advantage with a near-post header from Bruno Fernandes' free kick in the 67th.
Félix completed the scoring in the 87th minute.
Wales beats Norway.
Wales defeated 10-man Norway 2-1 for its first Group A4 victory, with Erling Haaland failing to score.
Haaland failed to find the net for only the second time in his last 18 competitive international appearances. He has scored 65 goals in 58 matches for Norway.
Oscar Bobb put Norway ahead in Cardiff, but Daniel James equalized before halftime. Norway defender Torbjørn Heggem was later sent off for fouling James, and Neco Williams scored the winner from the resulting free kick.
Protest disrupts Ireland-Austria match.
Protesters calling for Ireland to boycott its upcoming match against Israel on Sunday interrupted Ireland's game against Austria by throwing tennis balls carrying Palestinian flags onto the field during the first half.
A man carrying a Palestinian flag also attempted to enter the pitch before stewards stopped him.
Troy Parrott scored twice, including a fine solo effort, but Austria fought back through Alexander Prass and Michael Gregoritsch in the second half.
In the other Group B3 match, Israel and Kosovo played out a 0-0 draw.
Elsewhere, Liechtenstein held Azerbaijan to a 0-0 draw in Group D2.
