Germany's Niclas Füllkrug might well become one of the cult heroes of the 2022 World Cup after his emphatic goal against Spain on Sunday evening.For fans less familiar with German football, the sight of Füllkrug on the scoresheet during the weekend's mammoth Group E clash will likely have led them straight to their nearest search engine.No doubt the man himself would admit that he's not quite a household name just yet unlike, say, Manuel Neuer, Thomas Muller, Leroy Sane or Ilkay Gundogan.However, when you consider just how emphatically Füllkrug fired past Unai Simon to potentially save Hansi Flick's men from a second consecutive World Cup group stage exit, there's good reason to think that more mainstream audiences will be waking up to his quality.
Who is Niclas Füllkrug?
Well, allow us to give you the lowdown because 2022 has been quite the year for Füllkrug, who was winning just his third senior cap for Germany when he replaced Muller to come on and shock the 2010 champions.
Füllkrug had earned his promotion to the Germany fold on the back of a sensational 18 months, which started with 19 goals in 34 appearances for Werder Bremen as they won promotion from 2. Bundesliga.
And the 29-year-old certainly hasn't struggled to replicate that form in the Bundesliga itself with his record weighing in at 10 goals from just 14 matches in the top-flight this season.
Such potency in front of goal is what earned him a first international call-up for none other than the World Cup squad itself.
DOHA, QATAR - NOVEMBER 23: Niclas Fuellkrug of Germany applauds fans after the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group E match between Germany and Japan at Khalifa International Stadium on November 23, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
Füllkrug duly became the oldest outfield debutant for Germany in 20 years when he took to the pitch for the pre-tournament friendly against Oman and duly found the back of the net with the deciding goal in a 1-0 win.
It was a dream moment that couldn't have felt further away from the inconsistency which had defined the previous years of his career.
Prior to his recent success at the Weserstadion, Füllkrug had only managed to hit double figures in a season twice as he moved around Greuther Fürth, FC Nürnberg and Hannover 96.
Why is Füllkrug's Wikipedia so good?
So, now you can safely say that you know a lot more about Füllkrug than you did before the Spain game, but don't get too far ahead of ourselves just yet because there's plenty more to come.
And that's because screenshots of Füllkrug's Wikipedia page started doing the rounds on social media in light of his thumping finish into the top corner in Qatar.
Why? Well, because the 'Personal life' section of the article includes some absolutely phenomenal facts about Füllkrug away from his clubs, caps and goals that make for truly sensational reading.
In the space of just a few fascinating sentences, we learn that Füllkrug is nicknamed 'Gap' because of his teeth (are you okay with his, Niclas?), his wife is called Lisa and that he can't get enough of 'Eye of the Tiger'.
Oh, that and the fact that he once had a teammate's tooth wedged in his forehead after a collision in training.
But they're all fake facts, right? Well, no, because despite Wikipedia having something of a reputation for being flooded with fallacies, the Bundesliga's official website carried the very same fun facts as part of a profile on the future Germany striker five years ago.
BREMEN, GERMANY - OCTOBER 28: Niclas Füllkrug of Bremen in action during the Bundesliga match between SV Werder Bremen and Hertha BSC at Wohninvest Weserstadion on October 28, 2022 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
So, there you have it, now you know all about Mr. Füllkrug whose explosive impact against Spain summed up one of the most wonderful facets of any World Cup: announcing lesser known players to the world.
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