He came, saw – and scored! Niclas Füllkrug does not need a long start-up period in the jersey of the German national team to build on his goalscoring qualities in the Werder jersey. The Joker scored the all-important 1-1 against Spain. In the style of a real number nine! National coach Hansi Flick was asked after the game whether there was a regular place for Füllkrug?
Two goals in 76 minutes spread over three appearances. That is Niclas Füllkrug’s record in the DFB team. Against Spain, the Werder striker showed once again that taking him to the World Cup was spot on. After all, real center forwards are hard to find in Germany.
After his substitution against Spain and the redeeming 1-1 goal, it should be clear: A real nine in the center of the attack is simply good for the German team. Will there be a regular place for Füllkrug or will he remain the “super joker” for the time being – as the international press has dubbed him.
“It’s all too soon to make a statement like that right after the game. But we’re glad that he showed his determination to score goals. He gives a lot to the team, not just the goal. He “He’s a very good boy with his heart in the right place. We’re very happy that he’s here,” said Hansi Flick when asked whether Füllkrug would start next Thursday in the final group game against Costa Rica.
Then the German team absolutely has to win in order to be able to qualify for the round of 16. The upcoming opponent had provided support on Sunday and surprisingly won against Japan after the 7-0 defeat by Spain (1-0). “They showed a great mentality. If you lose 7-0 and come back like that… That is a team that defends well and is in good shape, maybe they deserved the 1-0 win against Japan. But the game still feels too far away. We have to let Spain slump again and analyze it. The things we did well we’ll tell the team again, they need the self-image to carry out the attacks like they did at the end,” said the national coach.
But the performance against Spain had always given courage: “That was a game against an outstanding team. We acted on an equal footing, those are the things we want to see from the team. We know that we have taken a first step and we want to create the conditions in the next game against Costa Rica to get through the next phase.”
This article was originally published on 90min.de as Super-Joker Füllkrug: Is there a regular place for the DFB goalscorer now? released.
