Joshua Kimmich Leaves Germany Camp After Greece Defeat
Joshua Kimmich will leave the Germany camp and miss the forthcoming matches against Serbia and Greece, with head coach Jürgen Klopp set to test other options after the 1-0 home defeat to Greece.
The Germany captain will return to club commitments while his international team-mates attempt to deliver the first victory of Klopp’s reign. His departure removes a key senior voice from the group at a time when the side is still adapting to a major tactical change.
Greece defeat exposes Germany shortcomings
- Germany hosted Greece at the WWK Arena in what was Klopp’s first home game in charge, but failed to find a way through a compact visiting defence.
- The hosts created few clear chances and struggled for movement, invention and a decisive touch around the penalty area.
- Dimitrios Kourbelis struck the late winner for Greece, with his effort taking a deflection off Kimmich and leaving goalkeeper Alexander Nübel unable to react.
- The result went down as a historic 1-0 loss to Greece and halted hopes of an early statement under the new coach.
Kimmich accepted Germany had fallen below the required level, saying the team did not play well enough and were unfortunate to concede so late. He felt a draw would have reflected the contest, but admitted Germany were too predictable in possession against opponents who defended deep.
“We did not generate enough opportunities,” Kimmich said. “We were too static, did not move sufficiently and lacked ideas in attack. Their goalkeeper made a couple of good saves, and perhaps we could have scored with more luck, but overall we were not creative enough.”
Kimmich backs Klopp’s direction
The Bayern Munich midfielder insisted the performance does not mean Germany are repeating the issues that contributed to their World Cup exit under Julian Nagelsmann. He argued that Klopp’s approach is different, pointing to fewer damaging turnovers and fewer occasions when Germany were exposed on the counter.
Greece, he said, largely sat back and used long passes, leaving Germany unable to turn territorial control into chances. Kimmich believes the current framework offers a stronger basis for improvement, even though the Nations League campaign has begun without the desired result.
“We have to get better in every department,” Kimmich said. “We must understand the manager’s plans more fully. His ideas are good and can help us, but the responsibility is on the players to carry them out. He is very precise about what he expects.”
Germany now face Serbia before travelling for the return fixture in Greece, with Klopp expected to rotate his squad and assess more of the available talent pool in Kimmich’s absence.
