Squad fine-tuning continued into the week. RB Leipzig attacker Brajan Gruda withdrew with a lateral abdominal muscle strain suffered in Leipzig’s Bundesliga defeat at Bayer Leverkusen; the DFB said no replacement call-up is planned. Bayern prospect Lennart Karl was moved from the first group to the second as a precautionary load-management step amid minor muscular complaints, with Karim Adeyemi shifting into the first squad for the Netherlands and Greece fixtures, according to German secondary reporting citing DFB/Bayern consultation.
What is at stake
Both nations begin the league phase on zero points. Nations League League A places still matter for March 2027 quarter-final qualification and relegation pathways, but Thursday’s main narrative is managerial first impressions under depleted or rebalanced squads. BetAlert will update line-ups when official team sheets are released.
Sources
- DFB — Klopp names first squad as Germany head coach
- DFB — Klopp explains first squad selection: We saw something in them
- DutchNews.nl — Meerdink and Til added to Oranje Nations League squad
- beIN SPORTS — Malen withdraws from Netherlands squad through injury
- Bulinews — Netherlands vs. Germany preview: Team news and predicted lineups
- Sportschau — Gruda verletzt, keine Nachnominierung
- UEFA — 2026/27 Nations League league-phase fixtures hub