Cody Gakpo denies Jurgen Klopp victory on return in controversial Germany vs Netherlands draw

21:48, 24 Sep 2026Updated 21:51, 24 Sep 2026

Jurgen Klopp's return to the dugout was never going to be quiet was it? The former Liverpool manager took to the touchline for the first time since his Anfield exit and was denied a dream start as the Netherlands equalised late on against Germany.

Klopp's ex-Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk thought he had given his former boss a nightmare start to life in his new job after heading home from a corner. But VAR intervened to cancel the goal.

Klopp could eventually celebrate himself though, with Felix Nmecha controversially giving Die Manschaaft the lead in Amsterdam following an off-the-ball incident involving Brian Brobbey and Jonathan Tah.

Heading into the final stages, there was still time for the fiery affair to throw up another dramatic twist as Cody Gakpo volleyed home.

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Germany's intent against their bitter rivals was clear from the start, with Klopp's brand of 'heavy metal' football seeing Brentford's Kevin Schade fire in a dangerous cross within the opening few seconds.

The hosts eventually found their feet and in-form Brobbey tangled with Tah as he attempted to charge into the box, albeit neither the referee nor VAR thought the incident was worthy of a penalty. There were then further appeals following an apparent handball by the defender but again, the referee was unmoved.

The Netherlands did eventually have the ball in the net. After scoring from a number of corners under Klopp at Anfield, his former captain Van Dijk got free of his marker to head home.

After being all smiles with Klopp ahead of the game, his mood very quickly changed after seeing VAR intervene and chalk the goal off for Brobbey's apparent foul on goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen earlier in the move.

There was then even more controversy ahead of Germany's opening goal. Brobbey got in another tangle with Tah on the halfway line and seemingly picked up an injury.

He signalled for a substitution and it appeared as though Germany would allow him to receive treatment as they slowed the game down.

But they surprisingly upped the tempo, played through their hosts and scored through Nmecha, which triggered an angry brawl between both sets of players.

Germany should have doubled their lead shortly after through Barcelona's Karim Adeyemi but he somehow fired over when faced with an empty net. In true Klopp fashion, the Germany boss gave an amusing reaction to the miss before applauding his players.

Mexx Meerdink was also guilty of spurning a few wonderful effort for the hosts - the striker firing wide in front of an unguarded net, while he also hit the post.

The ill-tempered tone of the evening continued with a crunching challenge from Nadiem Amiri that had both teams squaring off again.

And there was time for even more drama, with another of Klopp's former stars Gakpo finding acres of space to fire home in the late stages as he latched on to Ruben van Bommel's stunning cross.

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