“You need a guy like him”
Ex-national coach calls for Füllkrug to take part in the World Cup
December 24, 2025 – 5:35 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Jürgen Klinsmann sees Niclas Füllkrug as indispensable for the 2026 World Cup. The upcoming move to AC Milan could be crucial.
Former national coach Jürgen Klinsmann sees Niclas Füllkrug as an important player for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Füllkrug’s upcoming move to AC Milan could increase his chances of taking part. Klinsmann is convinced that Füllkrug, with his skills in attack, is a valuable addition to the German team under Julian Nagelsmann.
“You need a guy like him who does his job in the box, whether you throw him in for the last 15 or 20 minutes or right from the start,” said Klinsmann in an interview with the TV channel Sky. Regardless, the attacker is “definitely a guy you have to have with you.” Although Nick Woltemade (Newcastle United) is in the DFB attack, Füllkrug “keeps forcing mistakes from the opposing backline.”
With a view to next year’s tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico, the former Italian legionnaire (Inter Milan, Sampdoria Genoa) also welcomes Füllkrug’s upcoming move to AC Milan. Klinsmann said the World Cup was the “main motivation” for the loan, which could certainly be “fruitful”: “I think it’s a good step. Things didn’t work out the way he wanted at West Ham. He really wants to go to the World Cup. And he has all the quality to do so.”