Liverpool star Florian Wirtz was in scintillating form for Germany as he produced two fine assists in their World Cup qualifier against Slovakia
Florian Wirtz demonstrated his prowess as the Liverpool star provided two assists for Germany in their World Cup qualification match against Slovakia. Julian Nagelsmann’s team required only a draw against the FIFA-ranked 46th side to secure their spot in next summer’s tournament, but made light work of their opponents – who were joint-top heading into the clash.
Nagelsmann and his squad have been under increasing pressure leading up to a hard-fought victory over Luxembourg, where they relied on two goals from Nick Woltemade to ensure a top-two finish. Former Bayer Leverkusen star Wirtz has faced scrutiny since his move from the Bundesliga to the Premier League.
Despite his £116million transfer during the summer transfer window, Wirtz has yet to make a significant impact at Liverpool, leading to heightened criticism after the Reds were beaten 3-0 Manchester City just before the international break.
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However, he made significant progress towards silencing his critics with an outstanding performance for Germany in their final World Cup qualification match.
Wirtz set up Leroy Sane for his two first-half goals as they comfortably led 4-0 at half-time. The 22-year-old provided two quick assists, first delivering a brilliant ball over the top for the ex-Man City winger, reports the Liverpool Echo.
He then displayed exceptional vision to float a ball towards the back post for Sane to run onto and place into the net just before half-time. He was substituted after 77 minutes with his team firmly in control.
After Liverpool’s defeat to Man City earlier this month at the Etihad Stadium, Gary Neville labelled Wirtz as a “problem” for the Reds. The ex-Manchester United defender said: “Wirtz is a problem, let’s be clear. Let’s call it as it is. It’s an issue. To be fair, I said a few weeks ago about [Milos] Kerkez that he looks like a little boy out there.
“Wirtz looked like a little boy and that can’t be the case. He’s a German international of great standing and he looks well short in respect of what you’d expect in a top physical match.”
However, Germany’s head coach was quick to defend Wirtz, pointing out the difficulties the Liverpool playmaker faces both on and off the pitch.
“To be honest, the overall situation doesn’t make it easy for Flo either,” said Nagelsmann.
“The whole club isn’t as stable this year as it was last year. It’s much harder to slip into the team now.
“If you look at the game against [Manchester] City, they were actually the worse team over the 90 minutes.
“So it’s also difficult for Flo to make a big impact. Ultimately, the overall situation is such that he just needs a little more time, which is normal; you see that with other players who move to the Premier League too.”
He added: “We all know what he’s capable of, and it’s perfectly normal for a player of his age to go through a bit of a dip in form.
“We can’t expect him to perform at the same level for three years straight.
“Instead, we all need to support him a little bit so that he can clear his head here, and then maybe Liverpool could also help him out by scoring some of the chances he creates.
“That would be one idea, because he does not create few chances, it’s just that… they somehow don’t like to shoot the ball in, that’s also part of the truth.”
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