Following their exit from Euro 2024, several key players have retired, leading to a revamped squad for their first League A Group 3 game. Germany’s hopes of winning the European Championship on home soil were dashed in the quarter-finals by eventual champions Spain in Stuttgart.

After a turbulent year that saw Hansi Flick replaced by another former Bayern Munich coach, Die Nationalelf were not expected to advance further, so Julian Nagelsmann remains secure in his position.

Nagelsmann will now lead a new era for the German national team, with senior players like Manuel Neuer, Ilkay Gundogan, Thomas Muller, and Toni Kroos having stepped down from international duty after many years of service.

As a result, fresh faces are part of Nagelsmann’s first Nations League campaign, as he prepares for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and aims to reclaim the world title.

The 37-year-old coach has won seven of his first 13 matches in charge, losing three, with one of those victories coming against this week’s opponents at the Euros, where the hosts won 2-0 on their way to topping Group A.

Germany also faced Hungary in the last Nations League but did not fare as well, losing at home and drawing away in the 2022-23 season. Hungary still trails in the overall head-to-head, with 12 wins to Germany’s 14, plus a dozen draws, with their most famous defeat occurring in the 1954 World Cup final, where the legendary Ferenc Puskas narrowly missed out on glory in a controversial match.

More recently, Marco Rossi’s current squad narrowly missed out on the knockout stages of Euro 2024 due to goal difference, securing three points from as many Group A games.

At least their victory against Scotland ended an eight-match winless streak at the European Championship, though they have still won only two of their last 18 matches at major tournaments against other European nations.

Heading into the Euros, Hungary had lost just once in 16 games, pushing Italy all the way for a place in the last Nations League finals, before falling one point short in a group that also included Germany and England.

Appointed in 2018, Rossi remains at the helm for the upcoming challenge, as his team aims to beat the Netherlands and Bosnia-Herzegovina to secure a top-two finish in Group 3, which would be enough to reach the new quarter-final stage.

Sportai365 predicts a win for Germany.