Ronald Koeman believed his Netherlands side fell short in "all facets of football" after it slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Germany in the Nations League.

Jamie Leweling netted the only goal of the encounter at the Allianz Arena, marking his senior international debut in style to put his nation on the brink of qualification. 

Netherlands struggled during the contest, ending the game with Donyell Malen's 89th minute effort its only attempt on target.

Koeman's side also managed just eight touches in the opposition box compared to Germany's 26, despite edging the possession at the full-time whistle. 

"If you go back too far, you bring that on yourself," Koeman said. "We came up short on all sides, perhaps in all facets of football. We did things differently at half-time and then we got a bit more rest. But they were much better today.

"I am not satisfied by our performance. The Germans were the better, faster and physically stronger. They created more chances.

"We lost too many balls in the midfield. We went too far back. That was not the plan. The plan was to put pressure forward on the right side. But it did not happen."

The result leaves Netherlands in second in Group A3, level on points with Hungary after Dominik Szoboszlai's double handed it a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

Stand-in captain Stefan de Vrij echoed Koeman's thoughts after the encounter, saying his side deserved to lose against Germany.

"It seems clear to me that it was a deserved defeat," De Vrij said. "The first half was very mediocre. We were very sloppy and gave away a number of balls just like that, which allowed them to become dangerous.

"In the second half it was a bit better, but it's hard to create chances."

The Inter defender took the armband in place of Virgil van Dijk, who was suspended after his red card against Hungary.

Though Netherlands did not do enough in attack, De Vrij said that Van Dijk's absence from the team had an impact. 

"Yes, of course you miss him. He's a very important player and he's our captain. And he's a great defender, so it makes sense that he's missed," he said.