Latest news with #hat-trick
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Germany's ‘Big Nick' Woltemade brings nicknames and goals to main stage
If there was any doubting Nick Woltemade's star quality, a brilliant hat-trick in Germany's opening match of the European Under-21 Championship against Slovenia showed the beanpole striker with numerous nicknames is the real deal. Known variously as Woltemessi, the Tower of Stuttgart, Goaltemade or just plain old Big Nick, he has been the standout player of the first two rounds of matches in Slovakia, having helped to book his side's place in the quarter-finals with another goal in their win over the Czech Republic on Sunday. With England up next as Germany attempt to seal top spot in Group B and avoid a meeting with the favourites, Spain, in the last eight, the coach, Antonio Di Salvo, has a decision to make. Such has been Woltemade's success this season that he was also called up by Julian Nagelsmann for the senior squad's Nations League games and made his debut against Portugal in the semi-final less than a fortnight ago. 'Honestly, I just want to rest,' Woltemade said after the 4-2 victory over the Czech Republic, in which he contributed two assists as well. 'It's been a tough schedule and I've played a lot of minutes in a short time.' Di Salvo, a former Bayern Munich forward who was an assistant to Stefan Kuntz with the under-21s before taking over when Kuntz left to manage Turkey's seniors in 2021, is expected to rotate when they face Lee Carsley's side in Nitra on Wednesday evening. Yet after Germany failed to get past the group stage in Georgia two years ago for the first time since 2013 as England went on to win the tournament, he is under pressure to deliver the country's fourth title at this level. 'I don't need to say more about how important Nick is to us,' Di Salvo said. 'He changes our game.' A shade under two metres tall, Woltemade has played for Germany at various youth levels but it was not until his move to Stuttgart from his hometown side Werder Bremen that he announced himself on the big stage. Despite becoming Bremen's youngest player at 17, he had struggled for game time owing to Niclas Füllkrug's blistering form before a loan at third-division SV Elversberg transformed his fortunes. He earned a move to Stuttgart to replace Serhou Guirassy when the prolific Guinea striker departed for Borussia Dortmund last summer, and scored the opening goal in the DFB Pokal final victory in May – his fifth in that cup run – to add to his 12 in the Bundesliga. A hat-trick against Spain, who drew 1-1 with Italy to win their group on Tuesday night, in an under-21s warm-up game in March put Woltemade firmly on the radar, with reports of interest from around Europe including from Chelsea, Everton and West Ham. The 23-year-old born on Valentine's Day is eligible to play at the tournament because he was 21 at the start of qualifying – one of 73 players at the start of the finals who are two years older than the age limit. England are the only squad not to contain a 23-year-old, although Middlesbrough's midfielder Hayden Hackney will reach that age on 26 June, two days before the final. That is an indication of England's approach, with Carsley – who has extended his contract until the next tournament in 2027 – having assembled a much more inexperienced squad than the one which triumphed two years ago. If he had followed Germany's example with Woltemade, seven members of Thomas Tuchel's latest selection could have been on double international duty this summer. Adam Wharton, another senior international, was ruled out as he recovers from concussion sustained in the FA Cup final. Newcastle's Tino Livramento, who excelled in the opening win over the Czech Republic, is the only player to have also been capped at senior level and England's squad contains two teenagers, who have featured in the first two games: Tottenham's Archie Gray and Ethan Nwaneri of Arsenal. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Carsley will make changes against Germany, citing 'age and the amount they've played', with a point required to ensure a place in the knockout stages. If Germany are without Woltemade from the start, England – who have lost only twice to Germany at this age group and won 2-0 in the group stages two years ago – will know that Di Salvo's side boast plenty of other firepower. Nicolò Tresoldi, who scored the opener against the Czech Republic and described Woltemade as 'the perfect strike partner', has just joined Club Brugge, and Brighton's Brajan Gruda and Paul Nebel of Mainz provide creativity. At the other end, Freiburg's goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has made 20 appearances at the age group and has been tipped as a potential long-term successor to Manuel Neuer. 'We want to win every game,' said Germany's captain, Eric Martel, 'especially against England, because, as they say in Germany, it's 'the classic'.'
Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Times
Bayern Munich score ten against Auckland City part-timers in Club World Cup
Jamal Musiala scored a hat-trick but Harry Kane failed to find the net as Bayern Munich kicked off their Club World Cup campaign in record-breaking fashion — putting ten past the part-timers of Auckland City. It marks the biggest winning margin in the competition since Al Hilal defeated Al Jazira 6-1 in 2021. The total mismatch once again throws into question the expansion of this tournament from seven to 32 teams in an already jam-packed football calendar. Players unions are threatening legal action against Fifa for introducing the revamped competition and this second game of the tournament will have done little to calm the critics. Vincent Kompany's Bundesliga champions were far too strong for Auckland City and were 6-0 up by half-time before completing the biggest victory in the history of the Club World Cup. The German champions fielded a full-strength side from the start, featuring new signing Jonathan Tah from title rivals Bayer Leverkusen. The German international centre back made his debut against Auckland after leaving Leverkusen on a free transfer this summer and looked comfortable, keeping a clean sheet and providing an assist. It took Kingsley Coman six minutes to open the scoring for Bayern and his second came in the 21st after Sacha Boey and Michael Olise had also added their names to the scoresheet. Thomas Müller scored his first goal in the 45th minute while Olise got his second in stoppage time, leaving Bayern 6-0 up at the break. Kompany rotated the side in the second half with Harry Kane, Olise and Coman all being replaced. That did not make things much easier for Auckland, however, who had to deal with a fresh Musiala and Serge Gnabry. Musiala did not take things lightly in his first game since suffering an injury in April, scoring a hat-trick in 17 minutes. Müller's second goal took Bayern's tally to double digits in what will be his final tournament with the club where he has spent his entire career. 'Job done. We played a serious game. We did what we needed to do. Maybe the goal difference will be important in the group, so winning by ten goals was important,' Kompany said. 'When the opponent sits deep, it's not a matter of course to score ten goals. The highlight for me was the way Jamal Musiala made his comeback. It's a good basis for the rest of the tournament.' Tah spoke confidently about his debut. 'It was a good start to the tournament, exactly what we had imagined,' he said. 'We could've done better in some situations, but overall, we're happy. 'It was a lot of fun being out on the pitch. With all due respect to today's opponent, we know the upcoming games will be tougher. We're ready for the next matches.'
BBC News
09-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Can hat-trick ignite Adams' Scotland career?
"It's nice to score for Scotland, it's not happened much since I've been here."Fresh from scoring Scotland's first hat-trick in just under six years, and only the sixth since 1969, Che Adams was remarkably foot, right foot, header, the perfect hat-trick will hopefully serve as a confidence boost for the 28-year-old who has struggled, like many, to fire for Scotland. The side's trip to face Liechtenstein had become much more important than they'd have liked, after Friday night's ignominious Hampden defeat against a side ranked 161 places below them was viewed as a given, and any lingering nerves were calmed when Adams lashed in the opener just four minutes into the game - a smart, reactive finish following a sliced Lennon Miller shot.A driven reverse shot wrong-footed Liechtenstein's Benjamin Buchel for his second 20 minutes later, before flashing in a header with the final touch of the ball to wrap up his hat-trick."I'm happy to get on the scoresheet and help the team," Adams added."We knew it'd be difficult, the conditions weren't great, but we were very professional and our mentality was spot on."It was important to sign off this year with the win. We're happy we put things right from the Iceland game." He bagged goals seven, eight and nine for the national side on his 39th cap to get back amongst the goals in dark blue for the first time in just over a year, but it's now three years since his last competitive hat-trick, though, could hopefully spark a goalscoring revival for the Torino forward, who also assisted George Hirst for his first international has been routinely called upon by Clarke to pitch in up top, and Monday was perhaps an indication as to why."It's great for Adams to get his hat-trick," former Scotland defender Willie Miller said on BBC Radio Scotland. "It will give him huge confidence."Adams started alongside Hirst in the Rheinpark Stadion, a formation that Lyndon Dykes, who has started up top with Adams on multiple occassions, credits with getting the best out of said: "At the end of the day, everyone does get judged on goals in that position, so obviously scoring a hat-trick tonight will make him feel much better playing back in a Scotland shirt."Going forward, he'll take that confidence into the next games, I think the formations we played tonight definitely helped the game with the two upfront." Adams' journey from Saints to hat-trick Adams made his debut in March 2021, coming off the bench during a 2-2 draw against Austria in their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign first goal came two games later against the Faroe Islands, but, like many Scotland forwards, he has struggled for consistency in front of the time, he was playing Premier League football with four of his nine goals have come in competitive games, but he does contribute when not scoring, averaging a goal or assist every 3.5 games.A sole strike in a 4-1 win over Armenia in the Nations League in June 2022 was his last competitive contribution to a side void of attacking has also scored in seven different games for Scotland, who have never lost a game when he gets on the scoresheet. Adams, however, has been routinely called upon by Clarke to pitch in up top, and tonight was an indication as to why."It will be great for his confidence," former Scotland captain Scott Brown told BBC Scotland."I know every striker is judged on goals, but at the same time, it's his performance and work rate as well."What he does for the team, too, his hold-up play and link-up play have been really, really good for Scotland."That's why the manager chose to start him today, to get three goals is pretty much the icing on the cake with the last literal touch of the ball as well."
News.com.au
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
AJ scores historic 200th NRL try
NRL: South Sydney winger Alex Johnston has scored a hat-trick against the Warriors and a 200th NRL career try.
News.com.au
31-05-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Sarina Wiegman praises hat-trick hero Aggie Beever-Jones
Sarina Wiegman praises Aggie Beever-Jones after the forward scored a hat-trick in the Lionesses' 6-0 Nations League rout over Portugal. The 21-year-old became just the third woman – and second Lioness after Beth Mead – to score three times at Wembley, where she fired England out to a third-minute lead and Lucy Bronze headed home less than two minutes later. Beever-Jones struck twice more either side of Beth Mead's 29th-minute goal to hand England a 5-0 lead in the 33rd minute, while substitute Chloe Kelly added a sixth after the break.
