Nations League: Germany send Serbia crashing into League B

Germany moved closer to securing a place in the UEFA Nations League play-offs after recording a convincing Victory over Serbia on Friday.

The defeat marked Serbia's fifth consecutive loss in Group A2, leaving them with no chance of avoiding the drop ahead of their final fixture.

Germany take control as Serbia struggle

Germany needed less than three minutes to break the deadlock when Kai Havertz's flick from Maximilian Mittelstadt's corner took a deflection off Srdjan Babic and went into the net.

Florian Wirtz doubled the visitors' advantage in the 13th minute, reacting quickest after Vanja Milinkovic-Savic had saved Havertz's initial effort.

Germany continued to create opportunities before the interval, but Havertz and Jonathan Tah failed to extend their lead.

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The visitors made it 3-0 shortly after half-time through debutant Brajan Gruda, who carried the ball from his own half before beating the Serbian goalkeeper with a left-footed effort from the edge of the box.

Serbia pulled one back six minutes later as Babic converted the rebound after Marc-Andre ter Stegen had parried Stefan Gudelj's header.

Red cards compound Serbia's misery

Serbia's hopes of mounting a comeback suffered another setback when Vanja Dragojevic received a straight red card for a challenge on Joshua Kimmich following a VAR review.

The hosts were reduced to nine men after Andrija Zivkovic was also sent off for dissent, allowing Germany to see out the remaining minutes without much difficulty.

The result confirmed Serbia's relegation to League B for the next Nations League campaign. They have lost all five of their Group A2 matches and have managed just one victory in nine games in 2026.

Germany, meanwhile, can secure a place in the play-offs by beating the Netherlands on Monday. Victory would give Jurgen Klopp's side the head-to-head advantage needed to progress.

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