Exactly a week on from his £69m move from Stuttgart, I was on Nick Woltemade watch last night.
Our new club-record signing was named in the starting line-up for Germany, who took on a Slovakia side featuring former Mags Martin Dubravka and Ľubomír Šatka in their opening World Cup qualifying game in Group A.
Woltemade played the full 90 minutes in Bratislava, where the hosts stunned the European giants with a shock 2-0 win, thanks to goals from David Hancko and David Strelec either side of the break.
Our 6ft 6″ striker did miss one good chance with his head in the first half, mistiming an effort that looped over, but he was starved of good service in the main, with Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz really struggling in a side totally lacking in cohesion all over the pitch.
The German’s played far too many long balls into Woltemade, who is a nuisance due to his height, yet far more capable with the ball at his feet.
This was highlighted in patches by a few delicate flicks, one superb dummy early on and a lovely ball into the box that wasn’t capitalised on after a brilliant touch and turn to bring down a long ball into his feet.
However, despite the total lack of good service and Germany’s inability to play to his strength’s, our new striker did struggle in the main, rarely getting on the ball and feeding off scraps in a disastrous start to World Cup qualifying for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Next up for Germany is a Sunday night clash in Cologne against Group A rivals Northern Ireland, which is available to watch on BBC iPlayer at 7.45pm.
Given Northern Ireland won last night and Germany lost, it’s already a big game for Woltemade’s side!
