"Hansi Flick is not blind": Unleashed filling jug shoots towards the World Cup

The currently best German goalscorer in the Bundesliga has never played for the national soccer team.

"Hansi Flick is not blind": Unleashed filling jug shoots towards the World Cup

The currently best German goalscorer in the Bundesliga has never played for the national soccer team. The calls for national coach Hansi Flick to be nominated for the World Cup are getting louder and louder. Bremen's Niklas Füllkrug takes it easy, his teammates advertise for him.

The Werder fans sang "Lücke für Deutschland!", record national player Lothar Matthäus raved about a "fantastic" performance - but the celebrated and highly praised Niclas Füllkrug preferred to keep the ball flat when asked about a possible World Cup nomination. "Of course I'm very happy when people like Lothar Matthäus or others who know football praise my game and think I'm doing it well," said the Bremen striker after his brace in the 5-1 win against on Saturday night Borussia Mönchengladbach on Sky: "But everything else is not in my hands. I'm trying to do what I'm doing right now."

If he succeeds, national coach Hansi Flick will find it difficult to get past Füllkrug when nominating the World Cup squad. The 29-year-old has already scored seven goals this season - only Rudi Völler with eight goals in the 1985/86 season in a Werder jersey after eight Bundesliga matchdays to start with. "Rudi Völler was a good guy," said Füllkrug with a smile.

But that can also be said about the filling jug, which is called "gap" in Bremen because of its prominent tooth gap. He currently leads the Bundesliga scorer list and could possibly solve the national team's problems in the nineth position. "Hansi Flick is not blind, he sees that too. He will take a striker with him, with the advantages that Niclas has," said Matthäus.

In the game against Gladbach, the world champion captain from 1990 was particularly enthusiastic about the assist by Fulkrug before Mitchell Weiser made it 5-1, when he had wonderfully chipped the ball into the penalty area. "It was just fantastic," said Matthäus: "You can see not only the power, impact and goal threat, but also his understanding of the game."

This is no surprise for Werder coach Ole Werner. Füllkrug is "a very complete player who has almost everything that characterizes a striker," enthused Werner. In addition, his top attacker, who had played a key role in promotion with 19 goals in the previous season, brings a "positive obsession" with him, "this unconditional will to win games and get better. That's something he lives by example and brings to the team."

Füllkrug explains his jump in performance with the fact that he has remained largely injury-free for two or three years. It is therefore "no coincidence that I can now call up my performance," he said. "But you always need a great team."

Incidentally, he also has their support. Defender Niklas Stark, who made his starting debut for Werder against Gladbach, promised: "I'll make it so difficult for him in training that he'll be well prepared in the end." He emphasized the advantages of his team-mate: "Honestly, today he showed again how important he is for our team. And he can also be important for the national team if you look at the ranks. Of course they are all outstanding players , technically great player. But if it's really about the clear nine and if you want to play it like that, then I don't think you can avoid 'fullness'."

Storm colleague Marvin Ducksch put it more simply: "I've said it again and again … The boy can do everything!" Maybe the filling jug can soon prove itself in the national team.