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Xavi largely stuck with the setup his predecessor Ronald Koeman favoured, tweaking just one spot in the XI. Quinten Timber, on loan at Crystal Palace after his Feyenoord days, slotted into midfield alongside Ryan Gravenberch and Tijjani Reijnders.
A Fast Start and a Contentious Call
Germany came out firing, putting the hosts on the back foot early. Yet it was the Dutch who thought they'd broken through first, in the 12th minute, when Virgil van Dijk headed home from a Reijnders corner. The celebration was short-lived, though, as Spanish official Hernandez Hernandez chalked it off, ruling that Brian Brobbey had fouled German goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in the buildup.
Oranje kept the pressure on after that, but Klopp's men found their breakthrough in the 32nd minute instead. Play continued through a Brobbey injury, with the striker waving for a substitution as the move unfolded. Captain Joshua Kimmich slipped the ball out to Phillip Treu on the flank, whose low delivery was flicked goalward by Karim Adeyemi via backheel. Jan-Paul van Hecke got a block in, but Felix Nmecha pounced on the rebound to hand Klopp's reign an opening goal.
Germany nearly doubled their lead moments later. Nathaniel Brown blazed past Van Dijk with sheer speed and squared it for Adeyemi, who had the simplest of finishes into an open net, only to blast it well over the bar.
Missed Chances Pile Up Before Gakpo's Late Magic
That miss nearly came back to bite Germany, as the Dutch carved out their best opportunity of the match soon after. Denzel Dumfries whipped in a cross that found Crysencio Summerville free in the box, but his header flew straight into Ter Stegen's grasp.
Substitute Mexx Meerdink, who replaced the injured Brobbey, wasted no time making an impact after the break, threading a clever backheel through to Dumfries early in the second half. Ter Stegen was equal to it, though, denying the effort.
Ter Stegen, who'd already had a slice of fortune with the disallowed Van Dijk header, looked shaky again soon after, spilling a cross before recovering to stop Meerdink's follow-up at close range. Meerdink did find the net moments later, but that too was ruled out for a foul. The AZ forward, making his senior international debut, had another glorious chance in the 66th minute when Dumfries squared a low ball into the six-yard box, but his sliding attempt drifted wide. He came agonizingly close again before full time, striking the post with Ter Stegen getting a touch to help it onto the woodwork.
Just when it looked like the chances would keep going begging, Gakpo delivered in the 92nd minute, smashing home a gorgeous outside-of-the-boot cross from Ruben van Bommel to level things up and mark his first goal under Xavi.
There was still time for one more twist. Joey Veerman, back in the fold after a falling-out with former boss Koeman that kept him away for years, picked out Guus Til unmarked in the area during injury time, but his header sailed wide, leaving the points to be shared.
