BERLIN (AP) — Germany’s Jürgen Klopp era has started with just one win from four games.
Klopp avoided becoming the first Germany coach not to win any of his first three games in charge, but he also oversaw the country’s first loss to Greece, which spoiled his home debut last week.
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Germany's team players pose for a picture before the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's Florian Wirtz, left, challenges for the ball with Greece's Charalampos Kostoulas during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's Malick Thiaw, centre, misses a chance as Greece's goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, right, challenges during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's Florian Wirtz, right, challenges for the ball during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's head coach Jurgen Klopp, right, talks with Florian Wirtz after the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Four consecutive Nations League matches during the first international break of the season gave Klopp time to experiment and draw conclusions that may yet lead to success, but they also showed there won’t be a quick fix for the German national team after a decade of disappointment.
Germany imagines itself as a soccer heavyweight with four World Cup titles (three as West Germany) and a long tradition of being among the best. In recent years it has been overtaken in Europe by France, Spain, England and Portugal. Even presumed weaker nations like Greece – which won 1-0 in Augsburg last week and drew 0-0 in Thessaloniki on Sunday – have managed to upset Germany with concerning regularity.
Germany was knocked out of the World Cup by Paraguay at the first knockout stage, ending Julian Nagelsmann’s increasingly prickly spell in charge and ushering in Klopp’s entrance as potential savior.
Klopp began his tenure by naming two squads with a combined roster of 44 players including a host of first-time call-ups, boosting enthusiasm among fans and offering fresh perspectives to players. It sent a signal that good performances in the Bundesliga can be rewarded with international call-ups.
Germany opened with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in Klopp’s first game in charge, followed with the defeat to Greece, then beat Serbia 2-0 in Munich before Sunday’s draw in Thessaloniki.
Klopp said he was “super happy” after seeing the progress his young team had made against Serbia and Greece.
“I didn’t think such football would be possible with this group after a week,” said Klopp, who praised team captain Florian Wirtz and Freiburg winger Derry Scherhant among others.
“A couple of weeks ago we were saying German football is in the cellar. We have no talent. We’re missing it here, we’re missing it there,” Klopp said. “I worked with 44 German players over two weeks, and they certainly don’t lack talent. They all want to work hard. And when the players arrive the next time, the German national team’s hard drive will not be empty. We won’t have to start from scratch.”
Klopp handed debuts to 10 players altogether. Freiburg’s Philipp Treu made his debut at right back against the Netherlands and he also played the full games against Serbia and the draw against Greece.
“We now have alternatives in many positions,” Klopp said.
Germany next faces Serbia away on Nov. 13, before hosting the Netherlands in Berlin three days later.
“Of course we won’t have 44 players there. It will be a smaller squad, that’s clear,” said Klopp, hinting at the dilemmas he now faces.
Klopp will likely have to decide between the impressive Aleksandar Pavlović and Bayern Munich teammate Joshua Kimmich in midfield, while his other dilemmas including picking between Marc-André ter Stegen and Jonas Urbig in goal.
“We’ve taken the first step,” Klopp said.
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Germany's team players pose for a picture before the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's Florian Wirtz, left, challenges for the ball with Greece's Charalampos Kostoulas during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's Malick Thiaw, centre, misses a chance as Greece's goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, right, challenges during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's Florian Wirtz, right, challenges for the ball during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
Germany's head coach Jurgen Klopp, right, talks with Florian Wirtz after the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Greece and Germany in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Giannis Papanikos)
REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday sought to reassure NATO ally Iceland that President Donald Trump's administration has no designs on the island but shares its deep concerns about Arctic security as tensions between the United States and Russia rise in the high north and elsewhere.
Rubio hailed the role of diplomacy in resolving conflicts as he began a three-nation tour of NATO allies in the capital of Iceland, where concerns over the Republican administration’s often brusque and sometimes rude approach to traditional friends and partners have stirred unease.
Rubio, whose tour of NATO members will include Greece and Portugal, met Tuesday with Icelandic Foreign Secretary Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir at Reykjavik’s Hofdi House, the site of the 1986 summit between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that is widely regarded as the beginning of the end of the Cold War.
“The house symbolizes diplomacy’s role in ending the Cold War and defeating communism,” Rubio posted on social media after the talks that took place just days before the 40th anniversary of the landmark meeting.
However, both Rubio and Gunnarsdóttir downplayed differences between the allies and said both countries were committed to deepening and expanding military and commercial ties. Rubio made clear that the United States would not do anything in Iceland without Iceland's consent.
“We would be open to having those conversations to see what we can do together,” he said, noting that the U.S. had a decades-long permanent military presence in Iceland until 2006, when shifting priorities caused it to close its Keflavik base outside of Reykjavik. He noted that priorities have shifted again.
And, he went out of his way to praise Iceland: “We have tremendous respect for the people. We have respect for the country in the role it plays, and it has for a very long time,” he said.
Iceland has been uneasy about Trump’s intentions toward it after the posting of a map showing the colors of the U.S. flag sprawling across all of North America and extending to Iceland and Greenland. The unease has persisted despite an agreement reached last month to increase the U.S. presence in the neighboring Danish territory of Greenland that appears to have ended Trump’s earlier demand for the U.S. to take full control.
But on Tuesday, after Rubio's talks with Gunnarsdóttir and Iceland's Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir, those tensions appeared to be on the wane.
Gunnarsdóttir said the matter had been largely, if not entirely, resolved. “We remain focused on the future," she said. Rubio, meanwhile, said he was not in Iceland to talk about social media posts. “Everything is very positive,” he said.
Before leaving Washington on Monday, Rubio said the visit is intended to “advance our shared priorities: a secure Arctic, stronger commercial and energy ties, and closer defense cooperation.” He offered no hint of tensions with the island that, while a NATO member, has no standing army.
The map incident, however, alarmed Icelanders, and in response, Gunnarsdóttir summoned U.S. Ambassador Billy Long to a meeting at which she made it clear the post was unacceptable.
Iceland, which is just 180 miles (290 kilometers) from Greenland, had already been on edge after Trump mistakenly named the country four times while speaking about Greenland.
Long, a colorful former Missouri congressman, IRS commissioner and professional auctioneer, also has made waves in Iceland. Before he took up his post in August, thousands of Icelanders signed a petition urging the prime minister to reject him after he made a crack earlier this year about Iceland becoming the 52nd U.S. state and making him governor. He has since apologized for the quip.
Long is not the first Trump ambassador to Iceland to have raised concerns with the host government. In Trump’s first term, Ambassador Jeffrey Ross Gunter left locals in relatively crime-free Reykjavik aghast over his request to hire armed bodyguards, which prompted complaints.
At Rubio’s next stop in Athens, he may be dealing with another ambassador controversy. Rep. Gregory Meeks, a New York Democrat who is the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said last week that he would investigate allegations of misconduct and impropriety by the U.S. ambassador to Greece, Kimberly Guilfoyle.
In a letter to Rubio, Meeks said that he wanted answers following the allegations reported by The Wall Street Journal last month and that he would call for Guilfoyle’s dismissal if the behavior outlined in the news report was true.
The Journal reported that Guilfoyle told guests at a reception that the U.S. could undermine the Greek government if it chose to, promoted the business interests of one particular Greek construction and energy company, and allowed its lobbyist into private diplomatic meetings.
Some Greek opposition parties have called for an inquiry into the allegations, but it's unclear if they will proceed.
Guilfoyle, a former Fox News Channel host and California prosecutor who was once engaged to Trump’s son Donald Jr., has denied any wrongdoing, and Rubio has defended her before.
Guilfoyle, Rubio said after the Journal story appeared, “has been an incredible advocate for the president’s agenda in Greece and across Europe.” Rubio said he and Trump greatly value the ambassador’s “pivotal work and leadership,” notably on energy issues.
The Trump administration sees Greece as key to advancing the promotion and export of U.S.-produced liquefied natural gas to Southeastern and Central Europe.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio boards a plane Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, at Keflavik Airport in Iceland. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. ambassador to Iceland Billy Long attends a joint press conference held by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdottir at the House of Collections, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Reykjavik, Iceland. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir attends a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the House of Collections, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Reykjavik, Iceland. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference with Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdottir at the House of Collections, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Reykjavik, Iceland. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference with Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdottir at the House of Collections, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Reykjavik, Iceland. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a press conference with Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdottir at the House of Collections, Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, in Reykjavik, Iceland. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at Keflavik Airport, Iceland, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is welcomed by Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdottir, center, and by Chief of Protocol Helga Hauksdottir, as he arrives at Keflavik Airport, Iceland, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, left, is welcomed by Iceland's Foreign Minister Thorgerour Katrín Gunnarsdottir, center, and William Long, the U.S. Ambassador to Iceland, as he arrives at Keflavik Airport, Iceland, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)
