Klopp makes it clear: Jonas Urbig is not the No. 1 on the DFB team | OneFootball

Jonas Urbig is getting another chance to prove himself with the German national team right away. Just three days after his debut in the 2-0 win over Serbia, the FC Bayern goalkeeper will also be between the posts in the Nations League match against Greece in Thessaloniki.

This will mark the 23-year-old’s second international appearance. Notably, Urbig is the only goalkeeper to have played in two matches during Jürgen Klopp’s first training camp.

Actually, there were several factors in Finn Dahmen’s favor. The Augsburg player was the only goalkeeper present throughout the entire training camp. Nevertheless, Klopp has once again opted for Urbig. The national team coach explicitly does not view this as signaling a new number one for the DFB.

Klopp explains his decision to select Urbig

Marc-André ter Stegen started in goal for the opener against the Netherlands. Klopp subsequently described him as his number one—at least for the time being. Alexander Nübel saw action in the 0-1 loss to Greece. Urbig’s debut finally came against Serbia.

According to Klopp, there’s a simple reason why the Bayern goalkeeper, of all people, is now getting a second game: his lack of playing time at the club level.

“The thing is, all the guys we have here play regularly,” explained the national team coach. “It’s different for Jonas. That’s why we’ve planned for him to get one more game.”

While Dahmen plays regularly for FC Augsburg and Noah Atubolu is the number one at Eintracht Frankfurt, Urbig continues to be second in line behind Manuel Neuer at FC Bayern.

Klopp nevertheless expressed overall satisfaction with his goalkeepers: “All the goalkeepers have trained outstandingly during this training camp.”

He expressly does not want Urbig’s renewed nomination to the starting lineup to be interpreted as conferring special status. “This has nothing to do with being the number one.”

With a wink, Klopp added: “Normally, national team players get playing time at their clubs. It’s different here. With us, it’s all-inclusive.”

Urbig has another chance to prove himself to the DFB

Photo: IMAGO

For Urbig, however, the decision is a huge opportunity. At FC Bayern, he sees only sporadic playing time behind Neuer. With the DFB, he’ll get 180 minutes of international-level action in just a few days.

His debut against Serbia was largely uneventful. Germany defended very consistently in the 2-0 win, so Urbig was rarely called into action. Now he could get significantly more opportunities to shine against Greece.

Klopp is keeping his cards close to his chest regarding the rest of the lineup. Further changes from the match against Serbia are certainly possible.

The result, however, is of great importance to the national team coach. After the 0-1 loss in the first match, the team aims to secure revenge in Thessaloniki. “We want to field a team that has a great chance of winning this game,” Klopp emphasized.

At the same time, the 59-year-old expressed his admiration for his entire squad: “Everyone who was here at this training camp deserves to play. The level of play in training was really high. I’m very much looking forward to the future with this team.”

For Urbig, that future begins as early as Sunday evening with his second international match—and his next opportunity to prove himself in the open competition among Germany’s goalkeepers.