Germany were under pressure to secure all three points against Serbia in their penultimate group-stage match of the 2026–27 UEFA Nations League, with their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals hanging in the balance.

The two teams were scheduled to meet at the Stadion Rajko Mitić in Belgrade on Friday, November 13, at 7:45pm local time.

Germany, managed by Jürgen Klopp, were third in Group A2, three points behind both second-placed Greece and group leaders the Netherlands. Serbia, meanwhile, were bottom of the table without a point and had already lost their chance to qualify for the quarter-finals.

Serbia struggling in Nations League

Serbia endured a difficult campaign, losing all four of their opening Group A2 matches.

They began with a 2-1 home defeat to Greece before losing by the same scoreline to the Netherlands. A 2-0 defeat to Germany followed in their third match, while the Netherlands beat them 2-1 again in their most recent fixture.

Under head coach Veljko Paunovic, Serbia could no longer finish in the top two. However, they still had a chance to move above Germany into third place, although victory in this match was essential.

The Eagles had lost their previous six matches in all competitions and recorded only one victory since the end of 2025.

Serbia had faced Germany four times previously, winning once, drawing once and losing twice. Their only victory came in the group stage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Germany under pressure to qualify

Germany had collected one win, two draws and one defeat from their first four Group A2 matches.

They opened their campaign with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands before suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Greece at the end of September.

Klopp's side then secured an important 2-0 victory over Serbia in early October but were held to a goalless draw by Greece in their next outing.

With two matches remaining, Germany were three points behind both Greece and the Netherlands. They needed a strong finish to keep their quarter-final hopes alive.

Anything less than four points from their final two matches would make qualification highly unlikely. However, successive victories could take Germany to 11 points and potentially secure a place in the last eight.

Team news

Serbia were set to be without two players through suspension, with Sasa Lukic and Nemanja Maksimovic ruled out.

Aleksandar Mitrovic was expected to earn his 107th international cap. The 32-year-old could have been partnered in attack by Mihajlo Cvetkovic, who had scored once in five appearances for the national side.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was also expected to feature in midfield.

Germany had three players at risk of suspension for their final group-stage fixture after receiving yellow cards: Philipp Treu, Malick Thiaw and Yann Bisseck.

Kai Havertz, who had scored 25 goals for Germany, was expected to lead the attack. Florian Wirtz was also in contention for a starting role, while Said El Mala and Lennart Karl could feature from the beginning.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen had been confirmed as Germany's first-choice goalkeeper.

Probable starting lineups

Serbia: V Milinkovic-Savic; Nedeljkovic, Gudelj, Babic, Erakovic, Sukacev; Samardzic, S Milinkovic-Savic, Zivkovic; Cvetkovic, Mitrovic.

Germany: Ter Stegen; Treu, Tah, Schlotterbeck, Brown; Nmecha, Kimmich; El Mala, Wirtz, Karl; Havertz.

Prediction: Serbia 1-2 Germany

Although Germany had not been particularly convincing in the Nations League, Serbia were also struggling for form. Germany were therefore tipped to secure a valuable away victory and keep their quarter-final hopes alive.