Germany's Woltemade laments 'not entirely fair' criticism

Striker Nick Woltemade has said he feels at home in Germany's World Cup squad after a difficult first season at Premier League club Newcastle United.

Woltemade, 24, started well in England with seven Premier League goals in his first half of the season but added only one more since January.

He told Stern magazine that "the intensity of the criticism and the resulting fuss surrounding me did take me by surprise" and that he considered questions about his goal drought “misplaced” and “not entirely fair.

“At Newcastle, I was helping out in other positions, even as a defensive midfielder. Nevertheless, some experts continued to judge me as a striker,” he said.

Woltemade said he is working together with a mental coach to deal with all this and added that he has a very different standing in the national team.

"I may be one of the younger players, but everyone knows what I’m capable of. I helped us qualify for the World Cup with my goals," he said.

"I am a valued member of the team. People believe in me there; I feel understood.”

Woltemade has 11 caps, started in all six qualifiers in autumn and scored all of his four goals in the qualifying campaign.

He came on as a substitute in the penultimate World Cup tune-up against Finland but wasn't fielded in the final World Cup test against the United States on Saturday.

Arsenal's Kai Havertz is Germany's first choice up front but that doesn't stop coach Julian Nagelsmann from speaking highly of Woltemade.

"We will definitely fix him up as a team. Nick has always felt at home with us; he has a good record and he helped us in the World Cup qualifiers,” Nagelsmann has said.

Germany play their first World Cup match on Sunday against Curacao.