Qatar 2022: The Incredible Story of Niclas Fullkrug, Germany’s Goalscorer Against Spain

Qatar 2022: The Incredible Story of Niclas Fullkrug, Germany’s Goalscorer Against Spain

Edwin Kiplagat
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:18 PM
In this article:
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  • Niclas Fullkrug World Cup dream got better when he scored his first goal in the tournament for Germany to rescue a valuable point
  • Fullkrug made his debut last month but has already made a name for himself on the biggest stage
  • His story is relatively incredible, and stats show that Hansi Flick was right to call the 29-year-old to his squad

Germany's 2022 World Cup chances were hanging by a thread, but thanks to an equaliser by Niclas Fullkrug against Spain, the campaign is alive. But who is the unlikely hero for Die Mannschaft?

Hansi Flick's side suffered a shock defeat to JKapan in their opening match in Qatar, and they were heading to defeat when Alvaro Morata scored for Luis Enrique's side.

Niclas Füllkrug, Germany, Jamal Musiala, Spain, Werder Bremen, Bundesliga
Niclas Füllkrug now has three caps for Germany. Photos by Tnani Badreddine and Alexander Hassenstein.
Source: Getty Images

The 29-year-old Werder Bremen striker replaced the experienced THomas Muller in the 70th minute, and even he wouldn't dream of scoring at the World Cup when he was playing in Germany's second tier last season.

Fullkrug also earned his stripes with Nuremberg and Greuther Fürth in the second tier. But how did he catch Flick's eye?

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The rise of Fullkrug

The goal is the crowning achievement of his hard work in the Bundesliga and the second tier, according to Goal.

Fullkrug scored 24 times in 85 games in Bundesliga 2 before moving to Hannover 96 in 2016. He was impressive in the Bundesliga with Hannover, netting 14 times in 2017/18 before injury derailed his form.

Niclas Fullkrug, Germany, Spain, 2022 World Cup, Werder Bremen, Bundesliga
Fullkrug is the top-scoring German in the Bundesliga this season with 10 goals. Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos.
Source: Getty Images

He returned to his boyhood club Werder Bremen in 2019 and was instrumental for Bremen as they won promotion last season to secure a quick return to the Bundesliga.

In their quest for promotion, he bagged 19 goals and provided eight assists.

Germany call-up

His 10 goals in 14 games for Bremen this season make him the top-scoring German in the Bundesliga.

That form saw him make his first appearance for Germany earlier this month against Oman, becoming the oldest outfield player to make a debut for the 2014 World Cup winners.

Surprisingly he scored his first goal in his first appearance. He made his World Cup debut against Japan before scoring a stunning equaliser versus Spain.

Fullkrug's first World Cup goal

Sports Brief earlier reported on Fullkrug scoring a late equaliser against Spain to keep World Cup hopes of Germany alive.

Fuellkrug sneaked in behind substitute Alejandro Balde and lashed past Simon with seven minutes remaining to level matters.

Spain took the lead through Alvaro Morata, who finished clinically at the near post from an inviting low cross from Jordi Alba after 62 minutes.

Authors
Edwin Kiplagat photo
Edwin Kiplagat
Edwin Kiplagat has five years of experience in journalism working as a Sports Editor at Africa Insight Communications and ESPN. Edwin Kiplagat is a Bachelor's Degree holder in journalism from the Multimedia University of Kenya.