Malick Thiaw has backed Nick Woltemade to win the World Cup Golden Boot, putting the Newcastle United striker’s output under a fresh spotlight before Germany open their campaign. Woltemade is 24 and arrives with 11 goals from his opening season in English football, but only two of those came in 2026.
Thiaw’s Woltemade vote
“Yes, 100 per cent,” Thiaw said when asked whether Woltemade can finish as the tournament’s top scorer. He added: “Each striker who plays for a big country like Germany, or one of the others, can do something [special] and he has the qualities to do it.”
Thiaw was not speaking in the abstract. He and Woltemade have spent a full season together at Newcastle United, and the defender made 54 appearances in all competitions across the 2025-26 campaign. No Newcastle player played more minutes than him over that stretch, so his view comes from seeing Woltemade’s game up close day after day.
Germany’s attacking option
Woltemade is in contention to lead the line for Germany at the World Cup and may be picked ahead of Deniz Undav and Kai Havertz. Julian Nagelsmann has insisted he will play further up the field for Germany, a clear contrast with the role that followed him back at club level.
That club shift is the reason the scoring line looks split. Eddie Howe moved him back into a midfield role, and the goals dried up with it: only two of his 11 came in 2026. Last summer’s move from Stuttgart to Newcastle United cost £69million, and the attack now goes into the tournament with that price tag attached to the No 9 debate.
Curacao and Group E
Germany open their World Cup campaign on Sunday against Curacao at the NRG Stadium in Houston. Ivory Coast and Ecuador are also in Group E, which gives Germany an early test of how quickly Woltemade can turn his club numbers into international production.
Thiaw also pointed to Woltemade’s record in last summer’s European under-21 Championships, where he won the Golden Boot. The pattern is simple enough for Germany: if Nagelsmann keeps him high up the pitch, the striker gets the same kind of service that once turned youth-tournament chances into goals, and the World Cup conversation changes fast.
