Germany vs Netherlands: Jamie Leweling’s Debut Goal Seals All Three Points for Die Mannschaft

Stuttgart’s Jamie Leweling enjoyed a dream debut for Die Mannschaft, as he scored the all-important goal that gave Germany all three points against bitter rivals, Netherlands. As a result of Leweling’s debut goal, Germany have now secured a spot in the knockout rounds of the Nations League.

But before the kick-off, Germany held a farewell tribute for Toni Kross, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller and Ilkay Gundogan following their international retirement earlier this year. However, the mood turned somber, as fans observed a minute’s silence because of recent deaths of German football legends – Johan Neeskens and Dieter Burdenski.  

Buoyed by the raucous crowd at Allianz Arena, Germany came flying out of the traps from the very first whistle. Jamie Leweling had the ball in the back of the net just two minutes in, but his early goal was ruled out for offside in the build-up. Still, that didn’t slow the Germans down. They kept up the pressure on the Dutch goal, with Tim Kleindienst and Max Mittelstadt both coming close to breaking the deadlock. Despite their dominance, the halftime whistle blew with the score still level. The Germans were so superior on the night that they took 13 shots, out of which 5 were on target. In stark contrast, Ronald Koeman’s men took just three shots – out of which only one was on target – during the entire game. Netherlands couldn’t find a way around the organized German press, which proved to be so effective. 

Following the halftime break, it felt like only a matter of time before Germany found their breakthrough. And in the 64th minute, it finally came, courtesy of debutant Jamie Leweling. The 23-year-old rifled a right-footed shot into the top corner after the Dutch failed to clear the ball away from a corner. Netherlands did muster up some attempts, but Donyell Malen and Xavi Simons fluffed their lines.  And in all honesty, the Oranje were missing the veteran presence of their skipper Virgil Van Dijk—who was suspended after receiving his marching orders in a game against Hungary – and Manchester City’s Nathan Ake.  

Buzzing after netting on his international debut, Leweling credited his teammates for his goal and the win. He said, “We won as a team. I scored but we played a good game and I am happy to have helped. The Dutch are a big team. We let them run, we kept possession and used our chances to score.” With this win over Netherlands, Die Mannschaft top League A Group 3 with 10 points from four games. This tally is enough for them to qualify into the knockout rounds of the competition. On the contrary, this defeat leaves Netherlands in a very precarious position, as they sit in second place with just five points from four games. But things are getting tense for Ronald Koeman's side, with Hungary breathing down their necks after a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. That victory brings Hungary level with the Dutch on five points, making the race for the knockout stages much more nerve-racking. Now, the Netherlands will need to stay sharp and avoid any further slip-ups as the pressure mounts in the group.