Germany lost 2-1 to Portugal in a recent UEFA Nations League semi-final to continue their streak without a title. Florian Wirtz scored their only goal in the match.
As striker Nick Woltemade made his debut for Die Mannschaft in the match and failed to do anything of note, the lack of a proper finisher continued to haunt the four-time World Cup champions.
Germany’s Last Lethal Striker
Miroslav Klose has won a gold, silver and bronze medal each at World Cups for Germany and remains the highest goal-scorer in the history of the tournament with 16 goals.
However, since Klose’s retirement, the likes of Timo Werner, Serge Gnabry, Kai Havertz and Niclas Fullkrug have all played as the No. 9 with mediocre results.
For a country that has produced great strikers like Uwe Seeler, Gerd Muller, Jurgen Klinsmann, Rudi Voller and Oliver Bierhoff over the years – not to mention Klose – the lack of a quality striker upfront seems to be very painful.
Fullkrug, who has scored 14 goals in 24 matches for his country is already 32 and might not be an ideal fit for next year’s World Cup.
Besides, he has scored only three goals in 20 matches for West Ham United in the 2024/25 season, hardly the kind of return that would thrill the German supporters.
Nick Woltemade scored 12 Bundesliga goals in the 2024/25 season, which is a decent return, but not the kind of one that would force people to sit up and take notice.
Havertz has repeatedly proved for both his club and country that he is not a striker, but a midfielder who can play as a false nine at best.
If one looks at this season’s Bundesliga, the likes of Harry Kane and Patrick Schick lead the tally of leading goal-scorers.
Two German strikers, Jonathan Burkadt and Tim Kleindienst, have scored 18 and 16 goals, respectively, in the Bundesliga in 2024/25.
Burkadt is quite young at 24, but has made only three international appearances for Germany so far. He is yet to score for his country at the senior level, but has won the European Championships at the under-21 level.
Kleindienst, meanwhile, is approaching 30 and has earned six caps for Germany so far.
The fact that he has managed to score four goals in them goes on to show that he has taken to international football quite nicely so far.
Burkadt and Kleindienst, along with Woltemade and Fullkrug should be in the running for places in Germany’s squad for the next World Cup.
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Having a Star-Studded Midfield Is Not Enough
Germany have fine players like Gnabry, Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Leroy Sane in their midfield, but the lack of a quality frontman is hurting them.
It was the case in last year’s European Championships on home soil for them as well, as they lost narrowly to Spain in the quarterfinals despite dominating the match overall.
One can hope that Julian Nagelsmann will be able to solve that problem before next summer.
There are a few options available to him and it is now up to him to utilise those resources properly.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / MIS
Recording Date: 08.06.2025