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Ronaldo’s unattainable record. How many goals does a player need to score in a season to match the Portuguese?

With the fluctuating form of both Tim Werner and Kai Havertz, the question of who should actually be the striker for the national team at the upcoming World Cup is also floating around in the German media space. Four non-traditional candidates are talking about their chance. Let’s imagine them.

Lukas Finish

Lukas Nmecha is the closest to a place in the German national team. He has already made seven starts in the national team and missed the last meeting, not because Hansi Flick didn’t count on him, but because of an injury. He is a regular for Wolfsburg when available, and has three goals in eight games despite his team’s struggles.

He played for the national team for the first time less than a year ago, shortly after his transfer to the Bundesliga from Manchester City, from where he played for example in Anderlecht, or just earlier in Wolfsburg.

Last year, when he earned a call-up to the national team, he scored eight league goals and scored an average of about every 200 minutes. It continues at approximately the same pace this year.

A consistent and reliable striker who is often compared to Mario Gomez, he should fit into the squad for the Championship and if given the opportunity, it will be up to him to take it.

Youssoufa Moukoko

Borussia Dortmund’s young talent could be a wild card. Touted as a future star for many years, he always played at least one category higher in the youth categories. Now, at the age of seventeen, he has made it into the first team regularly and in the absence of Sébastien Haller, he is proving to be the right replacement in the starting line-up. Either instead of Modeste, who was signed in need, or alongside him.

With five starts for the U21 national team, where he scored six goals, he is now claiming a place on the plane to Qatar with three goals in 263 minutes in the Dortmund shirt. Should he maintain his current form, who’s to say Flick won’t rely on the teenager in attack?

Niclas filling jug

Before the start of the season, hardly anyone would have expected Niclas Füllkrug to be able to fire his Bremen side to fifth place after nine league rounds and be in the conversation as a World Cup contender. But how can you overlook a striker who scored eight goals in 800 minutes on the pitch?

Last season, he helped his club to promotion from the 2. Bundesliga back into the elite with 19 goals and now, at the age of 29, he is seriously talking about a chance in the national team. He never played for him, his national team career ended at the U20 level… Until now.

Hany Mukhtar

Hana Mukhtar’s name will probably be foreign to most European football fans. But this native of Berlin with Sudanese roots is rolling in the MLS. In the peak season (in MLS, the season copies the calendar year), he has scored 23 goals and leads the scorers table.

Mukhtar came through Hertha’s academy and was there until the 2014/15 season. Until then, he also went through the youth categories of the national team. This was followed by a pilgrimage through Benfica, RB Salzburg and Bröndby, which he finished in January 2020 in Nashville.

There, after a weak first season, he broke through and scored double-digit goals last year for the first time in his adult career. This year, he is following up 16+10 in the regular part of the 2021 league season with a provisional 23+7, and across the ocean, at the age of 27, he is talking about his debut in the national team.

Mukhtar primarily operates as an under center forward and playing him as a center forward for the national team would be bold. But Mukhtar is also a great all-rounder who can cover not only the center of the field, but also the wings, and a place for a player in such form could certainly be found thanks to the expanded lineups for the upcoming championship. If it works out, he may have a chance to speak more prominently into the tournament.

Source: Bundesliga, Nashville SC

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