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With three FC Bayern players in the starting XI, Germany have secured qualification for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Nations League with two games to spare. Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry and debutant Aleksandar Pavlović all started in the 1-0 (0-0) home win over the Netherlands at Munich's Allianz Arena. Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling, making his debut for the senior team, who were generally the better side, scored the winner with just over an hour on the clock (64').
Aleksandar Pavlović made his first start for Germany against the Netherlands. | Getty
"We're delighted and very proud of our performance today. We did very well, especially in the first half. We had a lot of new players in there, but you didn't notice that at all," explained captain Kimmich after the final whistle. The win means that Julian Nagelsmann's team now sit on ten points after four games and are sure of one of the top two places in Group A3, which guarantees their progression to the quarter-finals. Germany's next game is at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 16 November. A win in that game will be enough to seal top spot in the group.
Olise rested for France win
France took a big step towards the knockout phase of the UEFA Nations League without Michael Olise. The FC Bayern forward spent the whole 90 minutes on the bench in the Équipe Tricolore's 2-1 (1-1) win in Belgium. A brace from Randal Kolo Muani (35‘/62’) secured all three points for the visitors despite Loïs Openda's equaliser for the home side (45'+3'). As a result, France (9 points) have widened the gap to third-placed Belgium (4) in Group A2 to five points with two matchdays to go. Didier Deschamps' team could book their place in the quarter-finals with a point in their next home game against Israel on 14 November.
The German national team bid farewell to Thomas Müller and Manuel Neuer before the game at the Allianz Arena:
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