Julian Nagelsmann knew ‘fantastic’ Nick Woltemade was the real deal and now rewarded | OneFootball

Julian Nagelsmann never had any doubt about Nick Woltemade.

The young and inexperienced striker having the full support of the Germany manager.

Ahead of the two fixtures that would decide whether automatic qualification for the 2026 World Cup finals would be achieved, Julian Nagelsmann really pleased with how Big Nick had hit the ground running with Newcastle United and settled in on Tyneside.

Nick Woltemade the best player and grabbing two goals for Germany as they won away against Luxembourg.

Then last night scoring a great header to open the scoring against Slovakia, as well as putting in a superb overall display to lead his team to a 6-0 thrashing of their opponents AND progress achieved to the 2026 World Cup finals.

Julian Nagelsmann speaking about Nick Woltemade’s progress before these two pivotal Germany matches:

“He has made real strides.

“Moving to another country with a different style of football is never easy, but he’s scored a few times, feels at home in the city (Newcastle Upon Tyne), and overall the situation (playing for Newcastle United) seems to suit both him and us really well.

“He’s a fantastic player.

“He has gone from the U21 EURO final to being a regular starter with us in no time.

“He’s in demand right now because he’s been playing really well and has already scored for us too. He’s welcome to keep that going tomorrow [against Luxembourg] and on Monday [against Slovakia]. I’m very pleased with him.”

Julian Nagelsmann speaking after the 6-0 thrashing of Slovakia and qualification achieved:

“Every single player put in an outstanding performance today.

“We got into the game brilliantly, scored some great goals and played some really good football overall.

“There’s very little to complain about…I’m proud of the team, especially considering the challenges we’ve had to deal with.

“The way they handled everything and pushed each other on was really impressive.”

Nick Woltemade speaking after his latest goal and victory:

“That was a really strong team performance from start to finish, we didn’t let up for a second.

“We were creative, we were on the front foot, and I think it must’ve been a great game to watch.

“Personally, I’m just feeling relieved right now.

“I saw Josh [Kimmich] with the chance to cross, no one was marking me, the ball came in nicely and I was able to finish it off.

“It’s been an emotional year for me. It’s always an honour to play for Germany – I came through all the youth teams, and now I’m at the top, going to the World Cup.