Nick Woltemade and Florian Wirtz of Germany warm up during the training session of the German national football team.placeholder image
Nick Woltemade and Florian Wirtz of Germany warm up during the training session of the German national football team. | Getty Images
Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade continued his fine form at international level as he helped Germany qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Nick Woltemade grabbed his 11th goal for club and country this season as he opened the scoring in Germany’s 6-0 World Cup qualifier win over Slovakia on Monday night.
The victory secured Germany’s place at the 2026 World Cup in North America next summer. Woltemade scored his fourth goal in his last three games for Germany, having scored a brace in the 2-0 win over Luxembourg last week and his first Germany goal in a 3-1 win against Northern Ireland in the previous international break.
Newcastle defender Malick Thiaw also returned to the Germany set-up with two substitute appearances, adding to his three caps picked up in 2023.
After previously being the subject of scrutiny and criticism from the German media, Woltemade has managed to change opinion with his recent performances for the national team.
The 23-year-old joined Newcastle from VfB Stuttgart in August for a club-record £65million fee. He has since scored six goals in 12 starts for The Magpies.
Added to his goal he scored for Stuttgart and four for the German national team and Woltemade is already into double figures for the season overall.
German media deliver Nick Woltemade verdict after 6-0 win v Slovakia
Former Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka previously kept a clean sheet in a 2-0 win for Slovakia back in September but had to pick the ball out of his net six times in Leipzig on Monday evening.
Woltemade made it 1-0 with a close-range header before Serge Gnabry, a Leroy Sane brace and second-half strikes from Ridle Baku and Assan Ouedraogo saw the four-time world champions to a convincing win.
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After the match, Woltemade was praised as one of the players of the match alongside Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz.
Buli News awarded Woltemade with a 9/10 rating, commenting: “Leading by example from the front, Nick Woltemade just continues to get better and better, while becoming more and more important in a German shirt.
“He opened the scoring with a powerful header in the first half, and more than played his part throughout the remainder of the encounter. If the spot up top wasn't already his heading into next summer, then it most certainly is now.”
So it seems Woltemade has provided the answer to Germany’s striker problem with his recent performances as he looks to carry on his goalscoring form back at club level as Newcastle return to Premier League action against Manchester City on Saturday (5:30pm kick-off) at St James’ Park.
Thiaw came off the bench to earn his fifth cap for Germany though his introduction came with the score at 4-0 and the match effectively already won with half an hour remaining.
He was handed a 5/10 by Buli while Eurosport didn’t give him a grade, instead commenting: “First in Schlotterbeck for the last half hour. Wasn't really challenged.”
Nick Woltemade responds to German media criticism
Bayern Munich legend Karl-Heinz Rummenigge grabbed headlines earlier this season for branding Newcastle ‘idiots’ for paying a club-record fee for Woltemade after a failed pursuit from the Bundesliga champions.
When asked directly about Rummenigge’s comments and the ‘idiots’ remark while on international duty with Germany, Woltemade responded: “My teammates commented on it, I didn't. I think that was the right thing to do.
“A lot was made of my name, Bayern, and transfer fee during the summer; that was the story of the summer. To answer your question: The headlines everywhere said ‘idiots,’ but I read Mr. Rummenigge's entire statement – it was certainly somewhat unfortunate, but not quite so dramatic."
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