An excellent night for Malick Thiaw.
Jurgen Klopp once again putting his trust in the Newcastle United defender.
In his first two internationals in charge, the new Germany boss saw his team concede in both Nations League matches and only pick up one point from a possible six.
Jurgen Klopp then selecting Malick Thiaw in all of the next three and after two clean sheets and four points from a possible six last month for Germany, it was another three points with Thiaw in the starting line up on Friday night.
Germany defeating Serbia 3-1 in Belgrade and the United defender having an excellent game and not at fault for the home side’s consolation goal which came when Germany were already 3-0 up.
There had been eyebrows raised in the German media when Jurgen Klopp selected Malick Thiaw ahead of Nico Schlotterbeck on Friday but that faith in the Newcastle player proving justified.
After the 3-1 win, the Goal player ratings showed only three (midfield/attacking players) with a higher rating than Malick Thiaw’s 7 out of 10, with Goal commenting on Thiaw: ‘Calm and composed at the heart of the defence. Thiaw’s ability to defend in large spaces allowed Germany to push their line high. He recorded several key clearances as Serbia attempted rare counter-attacks.’
Malick Thiaw looked excellent last season for Newcastle United when arriving in summer 2025 from AC Milan but mistakes started creeping in at times during the final months of a tough 58 game season, when too much was probably asked of the defender due to so many injuries.
An up and down start to this season for both player and team overall, saw Matthias Jaissle bring in Schar and Burn for Thiaw and Botman. However, Jaissle brought Malick Thiaw back into the United team at Fulham in the last match and I think paired with Dan Burn this could be the combination to go with for Newcastle this season.
Last night will have been huge confidence boost for Malick Thiaw, his performance against Serbia and the fact Jurgen Klopp kept faith with him for a third start in a row and now only one goal conceded by Germany in their last five hours of football with Thiaw in the team.
Germany are home to the Netherlands on Monday, interesting to see what his selection will be then, last night Malick Thiaw was paired with Jonathan Tah.
This is the November 2026 international schedule for Newcastle United players:
Thursday 12 November
DR Congo 3 Sierra Leone 1
Yoane Wissa volleying home after 189 seconds for a 9th goal in his last 13 internationals, a 3-1 final scoreline in this AFCON qualifying group win.
Ivory Coast 2 Gambia 1
Bazoumana Toure an unused sub for the Ivory Coast in this AFCON qualifying group win.
Guinea 2 Eritrea 1
Ousmane Diabate played the full match in this AFCON qualifying group win.
England 2 Croatia 1
Lewis Hall and Dan Burn voted England’s best two players by the fans as they were excellent in this Nations League win, Rogers and Kane (pen) with the England goals.
Czech Republic 0 Spain 2
Lukas Hornicek an unused sub in this Nations League defeat.
Friday 13 November
Serbia 1 Germany 3
Malick Thiaw with a very good calm and composed performance in this Nations League win, the NUFC defender playing the full match.
Saturday 14 November
Portugal v Denmark (William Osula) Nations League
Sweden v Bosnia & Herzegovina (Anthony Elanga, Amar Dedic) Nations League
Sunday 15 November
Spain v England (Lewis Hall, Dan Burn) Nations League
Croatia v Czech Republic (Lukas Hornicek) Nations League
Monday 16 November
England U21s v France U21s (Aladji Bamba) Friendly
Germany v Netherlands (Malick Thiaw) Nations League
Tuesday 17 November
Netherlands U21s v Denmark U21s (Sean Steur) European Championship Qualifying play-off
Bosnia & Herzegovina v Romania (Amar Dedic) Nations League
Poland v Sweden (Anthony Elanga) Nations League
Denmark v Norway (William Osula) Nations League
Gambia v Ivory Coast (Bazoumana Toure) AFCONQ
Sierra Leone v DR Congo (Yoane Wissa) AFCONQ
Eritrea v Guinea (Ousmane Diabate) AFCONQ