Jurgen Klopp suffered his first defeat as Germany manager on Sunday as Greece claimed a historic 1-0 victory in Augsburg, ending a winless run against the four-time world champions that stretched back to 1960.
Dimitrios Kourbelis scored the decisive goal in the 74th minute, with his low effort taking a crucial deflection off Joshua Kimmich before finding the bottom-left corner.
The result came in Klopp’s first home match in charge and highlighted the rebuilding job facing the former Liverpool manager. Germany had shown greater energy during Klopp’s debut, a 1-1 draw away to the Netherlands on Thursday, but struggled to create clear opportunities against a disciplined Greek defence.
Klopp made several changes to his team as he continued to assess his options, with five alterations to the starting XI and a number of established players left out. His 44-man squad included 16 uncapped players as the 59-year-old seeks to identify new talent.
One of those given an unexpected opportunity was Hoffenheim forward Bambase Conte, who had made only four top-flight appearances before receiving his surprise call-up.
Conte immediately showed promise, firing narrowly wide inside the opening two minutes. He remained a threat after the interval and forced a low fingertip save from Greece goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis.
Germany’s best opportunity of the first half fell to Barcelona forward Karim Adeyemi. The attacker raced beyond the Greek defence on a counter-attack but could only send his effort over the crossbar.
Despite controlling much of the possession, Germany struggled to turn their dominance into meaningful chances. Greece became increasingly dangerous on the break and came close to opening the scoring when Fotis Ioannidis found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel, only to shoot wide.
The visitors did not waste their next opportunity. Kourbelis struck from distance, and the deflection off Kimmich wrong-footed Nuebel and gave Greece the lead.
Germany were unable to find a response as Greece defended resolutely during the closing stages to secure their first victory over Germany.
Jonathan Tah acknowledged the need for patience as Klopp begins his tenure.
“With the enthusiasm surrounding the new coach, things can get very hyped up from the outside, but ultimately, it comes down to what we do on the pitch and how we perform,” the Germany defender told ARD.
Klopp took charge in July following Germany’s elimination at the last-32 stage of the World Cup in North America, their third consecutive early exit from the tournament. The defeat against Greece underlined the challenge ahead as he attempts to restore the team to the top level of international football.
