‘Super Guy’ Füllkrug Drives Germany Forward at World Cup

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group E - Spain v Germany - Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar - November 27, 2022 Germany's Niclas Füllkrug celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group E - Spain v Germany - Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar - November 27, 2022 Germany's Niclas Füllkrug celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
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‘Super Guy’ Füllkrug Drives Germany Forward at World Cup

Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group E - Spain v Germany - Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar - November 27, 2022 Germany's Niclas Füllkrug celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)
Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Group E - Spain v Germany - Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar - November 27, 2022 Germany's Niclas Füllkrug celebrates scoring their first goal. (Reuters)

Niclas Füllkrug was scoring goals in Germany’s second division one year ago.

Now he’s scoring at the World Cup.

“That’s exactly what he’s there for,” teammate Thomas Müller said after Füllkrug's late goal rescued a 1-1 draw for Germany against Spain in Group E on Sunday.

Exactly one year earlier, Füllkrug scored when his Werder Bremen lost 2-1 at Holstein Kiel in the second division.

It’s been a remarkable rise for the 29-year-old Füllkrug, who now has two goals for Germany in three appearances since his debut less than two weeks ago in a World Cup warmup against Oman.

“I’m happy to gain a foothold here, that I can leave a mark straight away, that I can help the team,” Füllkrug told reporters after scoring a goal that boosts Germany’s chances of making the knockout stages. “I hope there are some more to come.”

Few but the most ardent Bremen or Bundesliga fans outside Germany will have heard of Füllkrug before. He’d been overlooked for the senior team after making his last appearance for Germany’s Under-20s in 2014.

But he fired Bremen to promotion last season and continued with 10 goals in 14 Bundesliga games this season, more than any other German. Coach Hansi Flick heard fans’ calls to include the old-fashioned center-forward in his 26-man World Cup squad.

“The team welcomed me with such great character, like I’ve rarely experienced before,” Füllkrug said. “So it wasn’t difficult for me to come in. Beside the field and on the field, it’s been going very well.”

Füllkrug is proving very popular with his new teammates as well.

“A super guy and a super player, really,” Germany captain Manuel Neuer said. “He brings a certain freshness into the team despite his not-so-youthful age. He’s always positive, always driving forward and that’s what we need. He’s an absolute team player.”

Neuer made his 18th World Cup appearance to match Brazil’s Cláudio Taffarel and Germany’s Sepp Maier for the most by a goalkeeper. But all the attention after the game was on Füllkrug for his no frills morale-boosting goal.

“He shot with a lot of confidence and that was a clear sign for all of us," Neuer said.

Füllkrug, who has still played more games in Germany’s second division than in the Bundesliga, remained grounded after his first World Cup goal – despite its potential importance.

“I’m very relaxed in these situations because it’s not the first goal I’ve scored, nor is it the first important goal I’ve scored,” Füllkrug said. “We’re already preparing for the next game because this goal from me will do little for us if we don’t survive the group phase.”

Germany plays Costa Rica for its final Group E game at the Khalifa International Stadium in Al-Rayyan on Thursday. It needs a win to stay in contention for the knockout stages.

Germany can qualify with a win if Spain also beats Japan in the other group game. If Japan wins or draws, it goes to goal difference, where Spain has the edge after its opening 7-0 rout of Costa Rica.



Kane Bags Double as Bayern Tame Flamengo to Set Up PSG Clash

Flamengo's Argentine goalkeeper #01 Agustin Rossi concedes the fourth goal of Bayern Munich scored by English forward #09 Harry Kane during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 football match between Brazil's Flamengo and Germany's Bayern Munich at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 29, 2025. (AFP)
Flamengo's Argentine goalkeeper #01 Agustin Rossi concedes the fourth goal of Bayern Munich scored by English forward #09 Harry Kane during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 football match between Brazil's Flamengo and Germany's Bayern Munich at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 29, 2025. (AFP)
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Kane Bags Double as Bayern Tame Flamengo to Set Up PSG Clash

Flamengo's Argentine goalkeeper #01 Agustin Rossi concedes the fourth goal of Bayern Munich scored by English forward #09 Harry Kane during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 football match between Brazil's Flamengo and Germany's Bayern Munich at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 29, 2025. (AFP)
Flamengo's Argentine goalkeeper #01 Agustin Rossi concedes the fourth goal of Bayern Munich scored by English forward #09 Harry Kane during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 round of 16 football match between Brazil's Flamengo and Germany's Bayern Munich at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 29, 2025. (AFP)

Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich tamed Flamengo 4-2 in a tense affair at the Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday to set up a much-anticipated all-European quarter-final against Paris St Germain at the Club World Cup.

Erick Pulgar's own goal opened the scoring for Bayern and Leon Goretzka was also on target for the German side, while Flamengo, who were defensively naive, twice reduced the deficit through Gerson and Jorginho.

Backed by a raucous crowd, Flamengo played with aggression, but Bayern converted all their shots on target and reaped the rewards of a fast start, scoring twice in the opening 10 minutes.

"It was tough. We were playing against a really good side in difficult conditions, it was really hot," Kane said.

"I thought we played well for large spells but every time we got away they clawed their way back and made it difficult. The fourth goal was important to ease the nerves and from there we managed it well."

Earlier on Sunday, Champions League winners PSG sent a brutal reminder of their firepower when they cruised past Inter Miami 4-0, taking their foot off the pedal after the break in what could have turned into a humiliation for Lionel Messi's MLS team.

Bayern got off to a flying start, opening the scoring in the sixth minute when Pulgar deflected a corner kick into his own net.

Three minutes later, Kane doubled the advantage with a low shot that went in off the post.

Flamengo got into something of a groove and went close in the 15th minute, only for Manuel Neuer to save Luiz Araujo's effort from point-blank range.

Shortly after the cooling break, the Brazilian side pulled one back as Gerson fired a missile that went in off the underside of the bar, triggering a deafening roar from the crowd.

Bayern, however, restored their two-goal lead before the interval when Goretzka, capitalizing on the space left by the Flamengo defense, whipped a shot from outside the box past keeper Agustin Rossi.

Tempers flared after a poor challenge by Pulgar on Kane as Flamengo struggled to contain their frustration.

Filipe Luis's side pulled one back again 10 minutes into the second half, Jorginho sending Neuer the wrong way after they were awarded a penalty for a Michael Olise handball.

The momentum had swung and Flamengo threatened with quick breaks, but Bayern held firm before finding the back of the net once more through Kane, who beat Rossi with another clinical low shot in the 73rd minute.