Deniz Undav netted twice in the space of six first-half minutes as Germany held on for a 2-1 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina in their Nations League match at the Stadion Bilino Polje.

The Stuttgart striker found the back of the net in the 30th and 36th minutes to pull Julian Nagelsmann’s side into a two-goal lead, but captain Edin Dzeko’s goal for the hosts after restart set up a tense ending to the game, which the Germans navigated. 

Florian Wirtz ran onto a lofted ball from Robert Andrich before laying it back for Undav to open the scoring at the half-hour mark in the League A Group 3 fixture, but Bosnia-Herzegovina were unfortunate not to equalise in an instant. 

Ermedin Demirovic broke free on a counter just four minutes later and beat German goalkeeper Alexander Nubel with his shot only to see it brush the top of the crossbar on its way out. 

It proved to be a costly miss as Undav turned in a low cross from Maximilian Mittelstadt a couple of minutes later to give the visitors a two-goal cushion. 

Undav thought he had his hat-trick in the 58th minute only for the goal to be ruled out for offside before Dzeko halved the deficit for Sergej Barbarez’s side heading home a Benjamin Tahriovic corner with 20 minutes left to play. 

But the hosts failed to find an equaliser as group toppers Germany preserved their unbeaten start and went two points clear of the Netherlands with their second win. Bosnia-Herzegovina, meanwhile, sit bottom with only one point from three matches. 

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann says football's decision-makers must introduce longer breaks between competitions, with players threatening to strike over the packed schedule. 

Debates over fixture congestion at the elite level have intensified in recent months, with FIFA's decision to organise an expanded Club World Cup a particularly thorny issue.

The inaugural 32-team tournament – which will be held in the United States at the end of the club season – will add another seven matches to some teams' fixture lists, while UEFA has also added two extra matches to the first phase of the Champions League.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri recently talked up the prospect of players taking strike action over a lack of rest time, but Nagelsmann does not envisage the number of games being reduced.

Speaking ahead of Friday's Nations League clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Germany boss called on organisers to look to American sports for inspiration when it comes to recovery times.

"I have often said that I won't complain about the calendar. A lot of matches are financing this sport," Nagelsmann said at his pre-match press conference.

"You have to have a healthy balance. I don't think there will be fewer games in the future. 

"There will be more matches and we should be talking about how to structure the breaks [between competitions]."

Pointing to the way the NBA and NFL manage player workloads, he added: "NBA players play 85 games or so but then have a long break. 

"The NFL has a long break. We don't have that in football. The players just don't get any break."

Kai Havertz has pulled out of Germany's squad for their upcoming Nations League matches due to a knee injury.

The Arsenal forward played a full 90 minutes in their comeback win over Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday, netting their first goal.

He became the first player to score in seven consecutive home appearances for the Gunners in all competitions since Robin van Persie between December 2011 and March 2012 (also a run of seven).

Havertz has made a stellar start to the campaign, netting six goals in all competitions so far, also getting one assist.

However, he will not be available to face Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to his injury, and it is not yet clear if it will keep him sidelined for Arsenal after the international break.

"Kai Havertz will miss the upcoming international matches against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands due to knee problems," Germany announced on X.

"National team coach Julian Nagelsmann has nominated Jonathan Burkardt in Havertz's place. Get well soon Kai."

Bayern Munich have confirmed that midfielder Jamal Musiala will be out "for the time being" after picking up a hip injury in their Champions League defeat to Aston Villa. 

Musiala, who played in the second half of the 1-0 loss at Villa Park, has been ruled out for Bayern's upcoming Bundesliga fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.

He will also miss Germany's Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands, with Julian Nagelsmann replacing the 21-year-old in his squad with Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling. 

Musiala has been in fine form for Vincent Kompany's side, scoring three goals and laying on three assists in eight appearances in all competitions. 

The midfielder also has the joint-most completed dribbles in the Bundesliga this season (seven), while only Michael Olise (14), Joshua Kimmich (13) and Harry Kane (10) have created more chances for Bayern than Musiala (seven). 

He has also impressed for Germany on the international stage, scoring six times in 36 games for his country, playing a starring role in their Nations League opener against Hungary last month, scoring once and providing three assists in the 5-0 victory. 

"Following an examination by the club's medical staff, Jamal Musiala will be sidelined for the time being with a hip problem," Bayern said on their social media accounts.

Germany boss Julian Nagelsmann has handed a first call-up to forward Tim Kleindienst in his latest squad.

Kleindienst scored 12 Bundesliga goals for Heidenheim last season.

Those goals propelled Heidenheim to an eighth-place finish, and secured Kleindienst a move to Borussia Monchengladbach.

Since the start of last season, Kleindienst has contested the most duels (622) and made the most sprints (1216) of any player in the Bundesliga.

The 29-year-old has already netted twice for his new club, and with West Ham's Niclas Fullkrug out injured, Nagelsmann has given Kleindienst the nod for October's Nations League clashes with Bosnia-Herzegovina and the Netherlands. 

"Kleindienst at Heidenheim performed well over an entire year and he has integrated himself well at his new club Borussia Moenchengladbach," said Nagelsmann.

"He has earned this. The injury to Fullkrug is a good opportunity to test Tim. He now has to prove himself."

Marc-Andre ter Stegen's long-term injury, meanwhile, means Oliver Baumann is a likely candidate to start in goal.

The Hoffenheim goalkeeper will be aged 34 years and 131 days on October 11, when Germany take on Bosnia.

Should Baumann play, he will become the third-oldest player to make his first appearances for Germany.

Germany squad in full:

Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Janis Blaswich (Salzburg), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart); Waldemar Anton (Borussia Dortmund), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen); Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhrich (VfB Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Alexander Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Angelo Stiller (VfB Stuttgart), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen); Serge Gnabry (Bayern Munich), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Deniz Undav (Stuttgart), Tim Kleindienst (Borussia Monchengladbach).

Jamaica’s team of Tommi Gore and Senna Summerbell produced a creditable showing in the fifth race of the ADAC GT4 Germany series as they secured two top-15 finishes at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Styria, at the weekend.

The Jamaican duo, dubbed the Reggae Racers, displayed their prowess as they drove their Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Club Sport to a 14th place finish after qualifying in ninth position in race one.

They were up with the pace from a strong start but later faded down the track in a fiercely competitive field.

However, the Avia W&S Motorsport representatives improved significantly in the second race, where they went nine places better to place fifth after placing fourth in qualifying.

The team of Jan Marschalkowski and Philipp Gogollok from Eastside Motorsport, finished tops to register their first win of the series.  They won ahead of Finn Zulauf and Josef Knopp, also representing Avia W&S Motorsport.

With much positive to take from their performances, Gore and Summerbell will target even more improvements in the final race of the season scheduled for October 18-20 in Hockenheim, Germany.

“I am so happy to be a part of this team and ready to end the year strong. We had a big jump in results from the start of the season with this change, so we can only expect things to get better from here,” Gore said.

The Avia W&S Motorsports team, which currently occupies second position in the team ranking on 179 points, are the defending champions in the ADAC GT4 Series. They are 11 points behind leaders Hofor Racing.

Julian Nagelsmann believes Germany have taken the next step in their development after sharing the spoils in an entertaining clash with the Netherlands on Tuesday. 

Tijjani Reijnders handed the hosts the lead with just a minute and 39 seconds on the clock, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to respond before the break. 

The Netherlands drew level five minutes into the second half through Denzel Dumfries, leaving the pair joint-top of Group A3 after the opening round of fixtures. 

But with German ambitions of being strong contenders at the next World Cup after their Euro 2024 disappointment, Nagelsmann is looking to see improvements in every match despite the tournament being just under two years away. 

“There is an awareness that every game is important,” Naglesmann said. 

“We have the Nations League now, the qualifiers next year and then hopefully off to the World Cup. We have 18 games left until then - if all goes well.

“The team believes in itself and that is the key. That is what we all want to see. Today we saw a team that wanted to win."

But in an enthralling encounter, Nagelsmann acknowledged that improvements need to be made at both ends of the pitch. 

Germany managed just five shots on target from the 21 they attempted, registering an expected goals total (xG) of 2.94 during the contest. 

While only restricting the Netherlands to 11 shots, their opponents created four big chances to Germany's three, with the Oranje also winning 53.1% of their duels compared to 46.9% for Nagelsmann's side. 

“Both defences were too vulnerable but offensively, we were stronger, tried to create more and took a bit more risk," Nagelsmann said. 

“In the early stages of the second half, we tried a little too hard and were maybe a bit too aggressive in the tackles.”

The Germany head coach was particularly pleased with his side's response to falling behind early on Reijnders' finish. 

“The way we came back was very good. It took us five or six minutes, but then we were well in the game," Nagelsmann concluded.

Germany continue their Nations League campaign with two away fixtures next month, starting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a reunion with the Dutch on October 14.

Ronald Koeman revealed that Matthijs de Ligt's substitution was made to protect him during the Netherlands' 2-2 draw with Germany in the Nations League. 

Tijjani Reijnders had given the Netherlands the lead in the second minute, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to hand the visitors the advantage at the break. 

For Germany's equaliser, Manchester United defender De Ligt saw his pass under no pressure intercepted by Jamal Musiala, resulting in Undav levelling the scores.

Koeman had previously addressed De Ligt's errors during the Netherlands' 5-2 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina last week and had to do so once again on Tuesday. 

"Of course, I would rather have kept Matthijs de Ligt on the pitch. It just looks like he is now in a period where all his mistakes are being punished," said Koeman.

"I gave him a new chance today, but eventually protected him by taking him off."

However, Liverpool captain and defensive partner Virgil van Dijk was more blunt in his assessment, saying the punishment is bound to follow against the top sides.

"This is football. You have to learn from this," Van Dijk said. "It was one moment but at the highest level you will get punished for it."

But at the top end of the pitch, Koeman was impressed with the performance of Ajax striker Brian Brobbey, who was given the chance to shine in place of the absent Memphis Depay. 

Brobbey, who made only his second start for his country against Germany, proved a handful for the visitors' defence, notching the assist for Denzel Dumfries' equaliser, with his five touches in the opposition box a total only bettered by Cody Gakpo (seven).

The Dutchman's display forced Julian Nagelsmann into making a defensive substitution of his own at the break, replacing Bayer Leverkusen's Jonathan Tah for Borussia Dortmund new boy Waldemar Anton. 

"Tah was not substituted for nothing," said Koeman. "He pulled Brobbey’s shirt five times and committed a foul each time. Brobbey held him off very well.

"The second goal also came from Brobbey. I am super satisfied with him. He got his chance, and it was great that he took it like that.

"I am glad I chose him. He is fast and strong."

There was cause for concern, however, for Manchester City defender Nathan Ake, who pulled up off the ball on the stroke of half-time and was replaced by Jurrien Timber. 

Ake left the field on a stretcher and was visibly upset, with Koeman able to provide a brief update on the injury. 

"It looks like a muscle injury for Nathan, though I am not certain," Koeman said.

The Netherlands and Germany played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in their second Nations League Group A3 fixture in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Goals from Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich saw Julian Nagelsmann's side fight back to lead after they fell behind to Tijjani Reijnders' second-minute strike, only for Denzel Dumfries to level five minutes into the second half and keep the sides locked level on four points.

Ronald Koeman's side did suffer a major injury blow late in the first half, though, with Manchester City's Nathan Ake substituted after sustaining an apparent foot injury.

The hosts made a lightning start at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Ryan Gravenberch sliding a neat throughball into the path of Reijnders, who made no mistake when one-on-one with Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The Oranje twice went close to extending their lead, Dumfries somehow heading Xavi Simons' free-kick wide before the latter was denied by Ter Stegen, and they were punished for their wastefulness after 38 minutes.

Florian Wirtz saw a close-range effort parried by Bart Verbruggen, but Undav was ideally placed to volley home the rebound, shortly before Ake was carried off on a stretcher following a clash with Kimmich.

Dumfries made a vital intervention to deny David Raum as the momentum swung in Germany's favour, and they took the lead three minutes into first-half stoppage time.

Undav was involved again, steering Raum's cross back into the centre for captain Kimmich to lash home from close range.

The Netherlands, however, refused to lie down and started the second half almost as quickly as they began the first. Brian Brobbey was played in behind by Simons, and his cutback was turned home by Dumfries to make it 2-2 after 50 minutes.

Ter Stegen kept out Gravenberch's long-range strike, while Raum sent a header over from a good position, but neither side could find a winner.

Data Debrief: Undav's first impression

Undav has looked a player reborn since he swapped Brighton for Stuttgart, initially on loan, ahead of the 2023-24 season. 

He scored 18 goals in 30 Bundesliga appearances as Sebastian Hoeness' men stunned Bayern Munich to finish as runners-up last term, and on Tuesday, he was rewarded with his first Germany start.

Undav repaid Nagelsmann's faith, becoming the first player to both score and assist on their first start for Germany since Amin Younes in 2017, versus San Marino.

Continuity is key for Julian Nagelsmann, as the Germany head coach revealed he would make minimal changes for their Nations League encounter with the Netherlands.

Nagelsmann, who watched on as his side swept aside Hungary 5-0 last week, confirmed he will be without Euro 2024 hero Niclas Fullkrug, though.

The 31-year-old scored two goals at the European Championships and was again on target for the Nationalelf in their Nations League opener. 

Fullkrug was replaced in the 60th minute by Maximilian Beier, registering an expected goals (xG) tally of 1.11 to Germany's 3.71 total against Hungary. 

However, Nagelsmann confirmed the West Ham United striker suffered an Achilles tendon injury that will rule him out of Tuesday's fixture in Amsterdam. 

"It is not yet clear whether he can play," Nagelsmann said ahead of kick-off, but revealed he would not be making wholesale changes from their 5-0 win over Hungary.

“We are not thinking about changing much," Nagelsmann said.

"There are certainly things we can do similarly. But it is a different opponent with a different style of play."

Germany's win over Hungary also marked their first encounter without a number of their recent heroes following their retirement after Euro 2024. 

Ilkay Gundogan, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller and Manuel Neuer, who have 451 caps between them, hung up their boots after their run to quarter-finals in their home tournament.

It offered the opportunity for players to stake a claim in the first-team squad, none more so than Barcelona's Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 

Ter Stegen made 41 appearances for his country but has been second choice to Neuer at major tournaments, and the 32-year-old returned to the international stage with a clean sheet, albeit only facing one shot on target against Hungary. 

"Marc played a very good game against Hungary," Nagelsmann said.

"He is a very important player for us because he has been with Barcelona for years and has a responsible position there as captain." 

Although in March, Nagelsmann had told Ter Stegen it would be Neuer who would start at the European Championships, despite missing 21 games for club and country with injury.

"The conversation wasn't particularly pleasant. Marc took it well and accepted the decision," Nagelsmann said.

"But I was briefly concerned that he would say I'm not going along with it. That would have been a shame."

Ronald Koeman said there is still a place in the Netherlands team for Memphis Depay after reportedly agreeing a deal with Brazilian giants, Corinthians.

Depay, who has 98 appearances for his country since his debut in 2013, was not picked for the Oranje's Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany this month. 

The 30-year-old started all six of the Netherlands' fixtures at Euro 2024, scoring against Austria and notching an assist in their quarter-final win over Turkiye.

He struggled with injuries during his final season at Atletico Madrid, missing 18 games in all competitions, but still managed nine goals in 31 appearances.

But Koeman's comments come after denouncing the move of Steven Bergwijn to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad, saying his decision to move to the Middle East had closed the book on his international career.

“I disapproved Bergwijn to Saudi, with Memphis it can be different," Koeman said.

"The level of the league in Brazil is different, so yes, he can still be part of the national team, but it depends on his fitness and if he reaches his level.”

Koeman's side will be hoping to maintain their winning start to their Nations League campaign against Germany in Amsterdam on Tuesday. 

The Netherlands put five past Bosnia last week, with Joshua Zirkzee, Tijjani Reijnders, Cody Gakpo, Wout Weghorst and Xavi Simons all on target. 

Despite registering 28 shots, with nine of those on target, along with an expected goals (xG) total of 4.09, two lapses in concentration from Matthijs de Ligt were punished by Bosnia.

Ermedin Demirovic capitalised on some poor positioning by the Manchester United defender, who was then caught ball-watching as veteran Edin Dzeko capitalised.

But Koeman again jumped to the defence of the 25-year-old, confirming that De Ligt would be starting against Germany.

"We have discussed it," Koeman said. "He did not get his footwork right. It was a bad individual moment for a defender.

"You have to learn from that, it is clear that these kinds of moments need to be improved. But we should not be dramatic about it and put too much emphasis on it."

Germany have two potential Ballon d'Or winners on their hands in Jamal Musiala and Florian Wirtz, so says Julian Nagelsmann.

Musiala scored once and laid on three assists as Germany hammered Hungary 5-0 in the Nations League on Saturday.

One of Musiala's assists teed up Wirtz to make it 3-0, after the Bayer Leverkusen star had teed up Germany's number 10 for the hosts' second goal in Dusseldorf. 

Musiala created seven chances throughout, while Wirtz played two key passes as Germany mustered 3.7 xG to Hungary's 1.1.

“When both are in the mood and really put their foot down, it's difficult for the opposition, they're exceptionally good," Nagelsmann told ZDF.

"These are two footballers – when they link up with each other, it's very, very good to watch.

"Jamal has already undergone a great transformation in the past year in terms of his presence in the box. During [Euro 2024] it was very good, today it was phenomenal."

Speaking to Sky Sport, Nagelsmann said: "Both [Musiala and Wirtz] have the potential to win the Ballon d'Or."

At the age of 21 years and 194 days, Musiala became the youngest player to record four direct goal involvements in a single Nations League match.

Niclas Fullkrug opened the scoring just before the half-hour, and the West Ham forward said: "It is fun to watch that today. 

"Jamal was in really good form. It is great to have him in the squad.

"We made a lot of deep runs and made it really hard for the opponents. Even when we did not have possession we controlled the game."

Jamal Musiala's scintillating performance led Germany to a 5-0 rout of Hungary in the Nations League.

Musiala was unstoppable as he scored once and teed up three more goals in a five-star display for Julian Nagelsmann's team in Dusseldorf.

The Bayern Munich star was involved in the opener when he saw a shot rebounded to Niclas Fullkrug in the 27th minute, with the West Ham striker making no mistake to slot home into an empty net.

Musiala eventually got on the scoresheet himself after the restart as he sprinted away from the Hungary defence on the counter and coolly finished past Peter Gulasci.

The 21-year-old turned provider once more in the 62nd minute as he laid the ball off for Florian Wirtz to strike home from the edge of the box, before he made it a hat-trick of assists when he played in club-mate Aleksandar Pavlovic.

In the only goal of the game not involving Musiala, Kai Havertz had to do it all himself. The Arsenal forward, who had previously rattled the crossbar, was tripped in the box before calmly passing his penalty into the bottom right corner.

Data Debrief: Musiala Magic

Musiala was at the centre of the action and provided four goal contributions (1G 3A) in an international match for Germany for the first time. The playmaker is the youngest player to register four goal involvements in a single Nations League game for any team.

Prior to Musiala's strike, Germany's last six goals in the Nations League had all been scored by Premier League players.

Germany really clicked into gear after the break, and are unbeaten in their last five Nations League matches when leading at the break (W3, D2) dating back to October 2018 against France (L1-2).

Marc-Andre ter Stegen dismissed the suggestion he could soon join Bayern Munich after he replaced Manuel Neuer as Germany's first-choice goalkeeper.

Neuer retired from international football over the summer, meaning long-time back-up Ter Stegen, who has been one of Europe's best-performing shot-stoppers over the past decade, finally gets his shot.

Julian Nagelsmann confirmed on Monday that the 32-year-old, who made his Germany debut in 2012, would now be his number one between the sticks, starting with Friday's Nations League contest against Hungary.

But when asked if he could possibly follow up replacing Neuer in the national team by also replacing him at club level, Barcelona goalkeeper Ter Stegen said: "I still have a long contract with my club and am very happy with my family in Catalonia."

He is delighted to finally get the chance to show what he can do for his country, though.

"It is a different feeling altogether," Ter Stegen said. "My aim has always been to be number one.

"I am happy that the spell of waiting is now over. I am happy about the new task, about what is to come.

"To be honest, there were always these moments when you say: 'Wow, that was another blow.' The decision mostly went in Manu's favour.

"It was disappointing, of course, but you have to live with it. You should have this experience and accept it. In the end, it was worth it."

Excluding own goals, Ter Stegen has conceded 30 goals from 30.3 expected goals on target (xGoT) since the start of last season in LaLiga, from 110 shots on target faced.

That means Ter Stegen has prevented 0.3 goals, suggesting he has performed about on track based on the quality of attempts that he has gone up against.

Joshua Kimmich has been named as Germany's new captain following Ilkay Gundogan's international retirement last month.

The Bayern Munich player has made 91 appearances for the national team since his debut in May 2016, netting six goals, and has captained the side on 17 previous occasions.

Kimmich played in all five of Germany's games at Euro 2024 as they reached the quarter-finals, with Nagelsmann confirming how key a figure the versatile player is.

Real Madrid's Antonio Rudiger and Arsenal's Kai Havertz, who captained Germany at youth level, have been selected as vice-captains by Julian Nagelsmann.

"The captain places the team's opinion with the coaching team. Kimmich was the logical successor," Nagelsmann said.

"He leads the way with his mentality. We have a very good mix with these three players."

Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Jonathan Tah, Niclas Fullkrug and Pascal Gross have also been selected for Germany's new leadership council.

"The team council is a very good, responsible group," Nagelsmann added. "We selected it well; the players were all very happy and are keen to fill their roles."

Nagelsmann also confirmed that Ter Stegen will be Germany's number one following Manuel Neuer's international retirement in August.

The Barcelona goalkeeper made his debut in a pre-Euro 2012 friendly and has since made 40 appearances, keeping 12 clean sheets, with Neuer's continued presence stopping him from nailing down a starting spot.

"Marc is number one. And deservedly the number one," Nagelsmann said.

"He has performed well for several years. He has been captain at Barcelona for several years and is the undisputed number one with very, very good performances.

"And he will also fulfil that role for us. That's why he's the clear number one."

Germany will begin their Nations League campaign against Hungary on Saturday, before facing the Netherlands next week. 

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