'Failed' - German media slam Nick Woltemade decision after Newcastle United star's World Cup exit
The 2026 World Cup ended up being one to forget for Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade and the German national team.
Newcastle United striker Nick Woltemade missed a penalty in Germany’s World Cup shoot-out defeat to Paraguay on Monday evening.
After being an unused substitute in all three of Germany’s group stage matches, Woltemade came off the bench to try and help his country progress to the last-16 by beating Paraguay.
But the South American side, led by former Newcastle man Miguel Almiron, proved to be tricky opposition for the four-time world champions. Julio Enciso put Paraguay ahead in the first half before Kai Havertz headed Germany level in the second.
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Woltemade was introduced in the final minutes of normal time as the match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes. Germany thought they’d taken the lead through Jonathan Tah only for a VAR check to controversially rule out the goal for a foul on Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill.
Speaking on Sky Sport, former Germany striker Miroslav Klose said: “For me, that goal should have stood every single time. Decisions like that don’t just change the scoreline; they change the fate of the entire nation, and that’s why everyone will be talking about this long after the whistle.”
Gill proved to be the hero when the game went to penalties as he denied both Havertz and Woltemade from the spot before Tah missed the target in sudden death and Paraguay progressed as 4-3 winners in the shootout.
It was Germany’s first ever penalty shooutout defeat at a World Cup, having missed just one penalty in the tournament prior to Monday night.
And it capped off a frustrating World Cup for Woltemade, in which his only notable contribution was to miss a penalty.
But how did the German media react to Germany’s exit?
Despite Woltemade playing over half an hour of football in the match, Buli News refrained from giving him a player rating.
Goal.com handed Woltemade a 5/10 rating, stating: “Replaced Sane with just over two minutes of normal time remaining and had little impact on the proceedings until missing his penalty in the shootout.”
Bild slammed Germany’s performance in general, stating they: “Delivered a truly awful performance for much of the game. Slow. Boring. Lethargic. It's another German football nightmare!”
Sky Sport Germany branded the group a ‘failed generation.’
ZDF pundit Fritzy Kromp criticized the decision to hand Woltemade a penalty at a crucial stage in the shootout.
She said: "To me, it’s hardly surprising that Nick Woltemade—making his first appearance of the tournament in a knockout match—missed a decisive penalty.
“Of course, he’s a highly paid, excellent footballer who can normally slot away penalties for fun, but not in a situation like this.