Nick Woltemade came off the bench to play as a No.10 for Germany against Finland last night.
Nick Woltemade is now Germany’s third-choice striker heading into the World Cup after playing 17 minutes against Finland last night.
National team coach Julian Nagelsmann - who has fired swipes at Newcastle United in recent weeks - opted for Deniz Undav to lead the line. His choice was vindicated, with the in-form Stuttgart man scoring two goals and setting up another.
Woltemade came on as a late substitute while Kai Havertz was omitted as he played - and scored - in the Champions League final 24 hours earlier. He came on for Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz in a deeper role which directly contradicts Nagelmann’s recent comments.
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Julian Nagelsmann hypocrisy
Germany’s coach has fired several thinly veiled swipes at Eddie Howe’s tactics. Newcastle’s handling of Woltemade has come under attack by reporters and pundits on the continent.
Last week, Nagelsmann once again spoke about the need to get Woltemade closer to goal. He said: "He’s not a classic counter-attacking striker. At Newcastle, he’s often 70 metres away from goal, which makes it difficult for him to get into the box.
"He often initiated things out wide, and then the ball was in the box so quickly that he could no longer get there himself. You have to get him closer to goal. The way we play will suit him because he has shorter distances to the goal. (He has) already scored many goals and played many good games for us.”
However, he did not heed his own advice as Woltemade played as a No.10 on Sunday. Howe preferred to use him in this role - behind Will Osula - for the final few weeks of the campaign.
With Undav getting the nod and excelling, he now appears to have nudged ahead of Woltemade in the pecking order. Germany will face USA in a friendly before kicking off their World Cup campaign against Curacao on June 14.
Eddie Howe dismisses Nick Woltemade claim
When asked about Nagelsmann’s comments, Eddie Howe pointed towards the benefits of using Woltemade in a new position. He said: “I think it is a great thing for everybody. For us, if you have versatile players, it gives you a lot more choice and options on how you play – especially when you have injuries in your squad.
“It is almost imperative that we have that. From the players’ perspective, I think it is great for their learning. It is potentially great for their careers. You have seen with Joelinton that changing position has transformed his career and it has been a real positive for him.
“That won’t always be the case with every player, and players will also have their preference on where they play. But I think we have some great lads who are willing to play anywhere.”
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