Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann has moved to defend Newcastle United star Nick Woltemade after he failed to score again for Germany on Friday night.
It’s a crucial October international break as many nations’ 2026 World Cup qualifying campaigns are reaching a critical juncture.
10 Newcastle United stars are away on international duty, with the break coming at a frustrating time for Eddie Howe, as his side were just starting to click with two exciting wins over Union SG and Nottingham Forest.
While the manager will be mostly hoping his players come back in one piece, unlike Lewis Miley, he will also be keen for their good form to continue.
While Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon have impressed, it’s proving to be a bit of a struggle for Nick Woltemade, who failed to score again for Germany on his fifth senior appearance on Friday night despite already having four goals for Newcastle.
The Germans comfortably defeated Luxembourg 4-0 in Sinsheim, but Woltemade wasn’t among the goals, with strikes from David Raum and Serge Gnabry as well as a Joshua Kimmich brace securing the win.
Despite being unable to find the back of the net once again, manager Julian Nagelsmann has no doubt that Woltemade will soon start scoring.
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Nagelsmann is confident that Woltemade will start scoring for Germany
German publication Bild has declared that the national team has a ‘goal-scoring crisis’ as none of the current strikers in the squad have scored for Germany.
With Niclas Fulkrug injured, Woltemade, Jonathan Burkardt and Maximilian Beier are the strikers in the Germany squad this month and are yet to find the back of the net.
In fact, it’s now been 495 minutes of action since the last time a striker scored for the team through Tim Kleindienst’s strike in the 3-3 draw with Italy in March.
Germany as a team are obviously not struggling too much in front of goal, but concern is growing about a seemingly lack of cutting edge up front, especially for a country that is used to Miroslav Klose, Gerd Muller and Jurgen Klinsmann.
However, Nagelsmann has backed Woltemade and is confident he will start scoring. He said, via Bild: “It was incredibly difficult for all the strikers.
“The numerical advantage wasn’t particularly beneficial for the strikers, as things were getting tighter and tighter.
“Nick just has to keep at it; he’ll score for us, too. It might take five, six, or seven matches. That’s not so bad.
“At some point he’ll score—and then he’ll score a few more times.”
Nick Woltemade teammate defends the Newcastle United striker
Nagelsmann wasn’t the only man to defend Woltemade, as his international teammate Aleksandar Pavlovic did so as well.
The Bayern Munich star insisted that just because Woltemade didn’t score, it doesn’t mean he played badly.
He said: “I’m sure they’ll score. I believe in them. We all know what they’re capable of.
“And if they don’t score, it doesn’t necessarily mean they played poorly. Today, it just wasn’t like that; others scored, and we hope they score in the next game.”
Woltemade will have another chance to break his duck when Germany travel to face Northern Ireland in Belfast on Monday in a top-of-the-table clash in Group A.
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