Germany secured a crucial 3-1 victory over Serbia at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade on Friday to keep their qualification hopes alive in the 2026-27 Nations League.
The result moved Germany to eight points and third place in Group Two of League A. They trail second-placed Greece on head-to-head record, while the Netherlands remain top with 11 points. Serbia are bottom without a point.
Germany made the ideal start and went ahead after only three minutes when Serbia defender Srdjan Babic turned the ball into his own net.
The visitors doubled their advantage in the 14th minute. Florian Wirtz followed up to score after Kai Havertz’s effort had been saved by the Serbia goalkeeper.
Serbia struggled to build a response and fell further behind five minutes after the interval. Brian Gruda scored Germany’s third goal in the 50th minute, leaving the home side facing a difficult task.
Babic, who had opened the scoring for the visitors with his own goal, reduced the deficit in the 56th minute by finding the net for Serbia.
The hosts’ chances of a comeback were then severely damaged when Vanja Dragojevic was sent off in the 77th minute. He was shown a red card for a dangerous challenge on Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich.
Serbia were reduced to nine players late in the match when Andrea Zivkovic was dismissed in the 89th minute. He first received a yellow card for a foul before being shown a second booking for protesting the decision.
Germany pushed for a fourth goal in the closing stages but could not convert the opportunities they created. They nevertheless held on for a valuable win ahead of their decisive meeting with the Netherlands on Monday.
The match will be played in the final round of the Nations League group stage. Germany must win to preserve their chances of qualifying, while Greece will face Serbia in the group’s other game.
