Nils Petersen (German pronunciation: ; born 6 December 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as a striker for SC Freiburg and the Germany national football team.
Petersen spent his early youth developing at hometown club FC Einheit in Wernigerode and afterward continued his development at VfB Germania in Halberstadt. Later he attended the Sport School Jena, playing in their youth team, eventually leaving during the summer of 2007.
In February 2005, Carl Zeiss Jena signed Petersen to a youth contract, before promoting him to the First Team in January 2007. Before promotion to the First Team, Petersen had already gained experience playing with the reserves playing in the Oberliga. Petersen made his professional debut on 4 February 2007 (20th matchday), in a 0–1 loss in an away match against 1. FC Köln. He entered the match in the 89th minute as a substitute for Mohammed El Berkani.