Netherlands vs Germany Lineups September 2026 – Xavi and Jurgen Klopp will make their debuts as national team coaches when the Netherlands face Germany in a highly anticipated opening UEFA Nations League match.

The match is scheduled to take place at the Johan Cruijff ArenA on Thursday, September 24, 2026 at 21:00 local time.

These two European giants will compete in League A Group 2 alongside Serbia and Greece, with finishing in the top two required to secure a place in the quarter-finals.

Now, before this match begins, let’s take a look at Mansion Sports’ prediction for the Netherlands vs Germany lineups September 2026 below!

Both Teams’ Conditions Ahead of the Match

Netherlands

For the first time since 1978, the Netherlands have appointed Xavi as their first foreign coach, with the 46-year-old Barcelona icon signing a four-year contract that will take him through to the next European Championship and World Cup.

A legendary midfielder during his playing days who also won the La Liga title in his last coaching job at Barcelona in 2023, Xavi described himself as “partly a son of Dutch football” due to the major influence of Johan Cruyff as well as the experience he gained under coaches such as Louis van Gaal and Frank Rijkaard.

Xavi is determined to build a Netherlands squad without “egos” and implement an attacking, possession-based style of football that contrasts with the rigid and overly pragmatic approach of his predecessor Ronald Koeman, who resigned after the Oranje were eliminated in the last 32 of the 2026 World Cup.

The Netherlands were defeated by Morocco on penalties in that match at the end of June, although they did not lose in 90 minutes in any of their four World Cup matches (W2 D2).

In fact, they have not lost a competitive match in normal time since being defeated 1-0 by none other than Germany in the Nations League in October 2024.

The Oranje are two-time Nations League semi-finalists who reached the quarter-finals in the 2024-25 edition; they drew 2-2 with Germany in Amsterdam during the group stage and finished second behind Die Mannschaft.

Germany

Two years after ending his legendary spell with Liverpool because he felt “out of energy”, Jurgen Klopp has now reached the “peak” of his coaching career after stepping onto the international stage for the first time to lead a new era for the Germany he loves.

Klopp, who spent only six months as Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, became the “obvious choice” to replace Julian Nagelsmann, who resigned after Die Mannschaft were surprisingly beaten on penalties by Paraguay in the last 32 of the World Cup this summer.

Described as a messianic savior for a divided national team, Klopp has been tasked with restoring the winning mentality that Germany were once famous for while instilling a heavy-metal philosophy that can help the four-time world champions move closer to major titles and climb from 12th in the FIFA rankings.

After failing to win their final two matches at the World Cup, including a 2-1 defeat to Ecuador, Germany risk going three consecutive matches without a win for the first time since a run of four winless matches ended in September last year.

However, Die Mannschaft are unbeaten in their last four meetings with the Netherlands (W2 D2), while they can also draw confidence from having lost only once in their last nine away matches against European nations (W6 D2) in all competitions ahead of Thursday’s match at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Netherlands vs Germany Lineups September 2026

Netherlands (4-3-3)

Regarding the Netherlands squad condition, the Netherlands will have to play without Donyell Malen and Justin Kluivert, both of whom withdrew from the squad due to injury, joining Mats Wieffer, Matthijs de Ligt and Xavi Simons, who are also sidelined.

Midfield trio Frenkie de Jong, Martin de Roon and Jerdy Schouten will also miss this international break, while experienced forwards Memphis Depay and Wout Weghorst were not included in Xavi’s first squad.

However, captain Virgil van Dijk has committed to continuing his career with the Oranje and the Liverpool star could feature in a back four alongside Denzel Dumfries, Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven.

Teun Koopmeiners and Tijjani Reijnders could be selected in midfield alongside Ryan Gravenberch, while Sunderland’s Brian Brobbey, who just scored a hat-trick against Manchester City last weekend, is likely to lead the line between wingers Crycensio Summerville and Cody Gakpo.

Germany (4-2-3-1)

Regarding the Germany squad condition, Klopp has selected 44 players divided into two squads for their four Nations League matches, with 24 of them available to face the Netherlands.

Florian Wirtz, Karim Adeyemi, Nick Woltemade, Aleksandar Pavlovic and Said El Mala are among the players who will not be involved on Thursday after being included in the second group, while Leon Goretzka and Deniz Undav are completely absent from the squad due to injury.

With captain Joshua Kimmich set to return to midfield under Klopp, Josha Vagnoman and uncapped player Philipp Treu will compete to start at right-back, while Jonathan Tah, Nico Schlotterbeck and Nathaniel Brown are expected to complete the four-man defense.

After scoring five goals in five matches for Eintracht Frankfurt, Younes Ebnoutalib is hoping to make his senior international debut, but Arsenal’s Kai Havertz is more likely to lead the line, with Lennart Karl, Jamal Musiala and Kevin Schade potentially providing support in attack.