Bastian Schweinsteiger has shared his thoughts on Germany’s 2-0 defeat to Slovakia, suggesting why Newcastle United ace Nick Woltemade struggled to impress.
It was a rough night for Julian Nagelsmann’s side in Bratislava on Thursday night, where Germany went down with a whimper against Slovakia.
Newcastle United fans had a lot of interest in the game, with new signing Nick Woltemade in action from the start for his national team. However, the 23-year-old was unable to make an impact.
The towering striker failed to register a shot on target from any of his three attempts and lost all of his ground duels. The German media were very critical of Woltemade, with one outlet claiming he was ‘almost invisible’.
Elsewhere, German fans thought Woltemade was poor. Despite that, Bastian Schweinsteiger has provided some insight into why Newcastle’s new record signing struggled so much.
Photo by Marvin Ibo Guengoer – GES Sportfoto/Getty ImagesBastian Schweinsteiger says Germany had no threat amid Nick Woltemade woes
Newcastle fans think Woltemade lacked the right service from his national teammates, and that the long-ball tactics from Nagelsmann did not suit the striker, who is great with the ball at his feet.
Woltemade will get another chance to impress on Sunday when Germany take on Northern Ireland in Cologne.
However, the Germans must do a lot more to keep things tight at the back and provide more opportunities for the attackers to score.
Those issues were pointed out by Schweinsteiger, who was very critical of Germany.
“I’m sorry. But not for a single minute of the game did I believe we would win,” he told the Daily Mail
“Nothing came of it. This is a tough setback.
“We were really bad. We didn’t play good passes, we didn’t pose any threat. Our body language after the 0-1 was gone immediately. If you want to win anything, you have to show resilience.
“Look at [Milan] Skriniar, at the back for the Slovakians, none of us could hold a candle to him.”
Eddie Howe will be eager to start training with Nick Woltemade
Alexander Isak has now left Newcastle, and Woltemade is his replacement. It is a shame that the international break came when it has, because Eddie Howe has not had the opportunity to take a training session with Woltemade.
The Newcastle manager will be eager to get him back to the North East next week and bring him up to speed with his style of football. It remains to be seen whether Woltemade will start against Wolves on 13 September, with new No.9 Yoane Wissa also an option for the 47-year-old.
September sees the start of a busy run of fixtures, with Champions League football accompanying the usual Premier League and Carabao Cup clashes.
Newcastle play a staggering seven games in the next 30 days, so squad rotation will be key.
Even if he does not get his first start against Wolves, there are many more games in which Howe can use Woltemade. His first start could even come in the Champions League game against La Liga giants Barcelona.