Jurgen Klopp has revealed that Germany's captain for their Nations League clash with Serbia will be the player with the most international caps in the starting line-up, a decision that rules out Florian Wirtz from taking the armband.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Klopp said: "Whoever has the most caps in the starting lineup will wear the armband tomorrow. Feel free to ask [who might be a captain], but I don't reveal the starting lineup now. You can look them up yourselves."
Captaincy contenders
Wirtz, who has 46 caps to his name, would have been a contender for the captaincy, but fellow German star Serge Gnabry has 61 caps, while David Raum has 39. With both Nico Schlotterbeck and Joshua Kimmich ruled out of the game, Gnabry appears the most likely candidate to lead the side.
While Klopp did not give much away regarding the captaincy, he did hint that Jonas Urbig would not be one of those considered, but was in line to start the game. He said: "I can only say that Jonas Urbig won't wear the armband in his first international match."
Serbia challenge ahead
Germany take on Serbia, who are bottom of their Nations League group, while Klopp's side have taken just one point from their two opening games. They drew with the Netherlands earlier in the international break before a 1-0 defeat to Greece last time out.
Klopp drew comparisons between Serbia's approach and the recent clash with Ivan Jovanović's side. The former Reds boss said: "Serbia's approach won't be much different from what Greece did. What makes Serbia particularly difficult to play against is their experience."
"They also have some excellent footballers. They know all the tricks of the trade, so we have to be prepared for that. They have a special mentality."
"It's not the best period in Serbian football at the moment, but the players themselves know what's at stake and have fought for one another."
"An opponent that sits deep is a major challenge for any team, at any stage of development."
