‘Dad’ Niklas Wellen’s best World Cup moment

Bhubaneswar, January 17

When Germany’s Niklas Wellen took the field here today, his mind would have been back home in Germany. However, the professional that he is, it was impossible to tell if he was distracted.

The 28-year-old scored one of the best goals of the day and played his heart out to help Germany hold defending champions Belgium to a 2-2 draw.

Wellen did all this despite finding out during the match that he had become a father. “He got a message right before the game but he couldn’t get connection,” Germany coach Andre Henning said after the match. “I think he got a message during halftime, with a picture of a son. He did not join us during halftime. He was crying. It was a very emotional day for all of us,” he added.

Wellen was named the Player of the Match. “I am happy he is here,” Henning said. “Everyone in the team would have accepted if he had decided to miss the World Cup. We are all very happy that the child is healthy. It’s a great story, which is more important than the game,” he added.

Wellen had cancelled out Cedric Charlier’s ninth-minute strike with a goal in the 22nd minute. Tom Grambusch’s penalty stroke in the 52nd minute raised the German hopes of an upset win but Victor Wegnez equalised two minutes later to keep the pool open. Earlier, South Korea defeated reigning Asian Games champions Japan 2-1 to virtually seal the third place in the group.