Arne Slot told 'unplayable' Florian Wirtz was 'back to his best' in Germany thrashing

Florian Wirtz was praised for his performance after shining in Germany's thumping 6-0 victory over Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier.

Germany and Slovakia both went into Monday's game with a chance of securing automatic qualification for next summer's tournament in North America.

The two teams were level on points, but Germany's superior goal difference meant that Julian Nagelsmann's side – which featured Liverpool star Wirtz from the start – only needed to avoid defeat to secure top spot in Group A.

Irrespective of the permutations, it was a nervy buildup to the game in Leipzig, as Germans considered the possibility of their country failing to automatically qualify for a World Cup for the first time ever.

Thankfully for Die Mannschaft, the game was virtually over by half-time as it held a commanding 4-0 lead courtesy of goals from Nick Woltemade and Serge Gnabry, and a brace from Leroy Sane.

Further strikes from substitutes Ridle Baku and Assan Ouedraogo in the second half put extra gloss on the victory, but it was the performance of Wirtz which drew praise from former Premier League goalkeeper Shaka Hislop.

Wirtz started the game and provided the assists for both of Sane's goals, picking out the former Manchester City winger with very different – yet equally brilliant – passes from his position on the left side of Germany's team.

"Florian Wirtz I thought was outstanding," Hislop said in his role as an analyst for ESPN. "The player from Leverkusen that Liverpool have been yearning for him to be.

"Comes into this game, and just dictates so much about Germany's creative play. Those passes from midfield, the runs from the left hand side – this was Florian Wirtz at his comfortable best.

"A lot of times when you're with your club and struggling, international duty is a welcome departure, when you can go and be among players that you know and feel a whole lot relaxed.

"Regarding this game, I'm not sure how relaxed everyone could be [considering what was at stake for Germany], but once they got the opening goal, everybody just seemed to settle down.

"I thought Wirtz was unplayable, certainly unreadable, in terms of his passing from deep, or getting on the ball. That's the Florian Wirtz that everybody has been yearning for."

Wirtz and Germany will discover more about who they will face in the World Cup when the draw takes place in Washington on December 5.

Story Saved

You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.