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Florian Wirtz certainly responded to his detractors in Germany’s win over Northern Ireland on Sunday.
The Liverpool star, who joined from Bayer Leverkusen for a fee worth up to £116million ($158M) this summer hasn’t made an immediate impression. The 22-year-old is yet to record a goal or assist from three Premier League games and found it difficult to get involved in the recent win over Newcastle United.
While it may seem premature for Wirtz to attract criticism, his performance in Germany’s defeat to Slovakia last week also resulted in negative feedback in his homeland.
Kicker claimed Wirtz was “almost invisible” in the 2-0 loss, while adding that “since his mega-transfer to Liverpool, things haven't been going well”.
“What’s wrong with Florian Wirtz?” wrote Bild, while Sport1 claimed the midfielder “completely under the radar”.
After the Slovakia loss, Julian Nagelsmann sent a pointed message. “Maybe we really do need to rely less on quality and instead on players who just give everything, because that would have led to better results today than if the best players played.”
Those comments led to speculation that Wirtz could be dropped for the Northern Ireland match although Nagelsmann placed his faith in Germany’s star name once again.
It was a decision Wirtz more than justified as he put in an excellent display against Michael O’Neill’s side.
Wirtz played a significant role in Germany’s build-up play, often playing sharp passes with team-mates and holding off Northern Ireland’s intense pressing game.
But the highlight came on 72 minutes when Wirtz fired a phenomenal free-kick into the back of the net. So much for Conor Bradley’s joking request to “go easy”.
Wirtz pointed to his ear, a message many perceived as a response to the recent criticism. His free-kick all but ended the contest. Holding a 3-1 advantage with under 20 minutes remaining, it proved too daunting a task for Northern Ireland to overcome.
Despite that, the post-match verdict in Germany was that Wirtz is still capable of more.
“A home game for the Effzeh talent, born in the Cologne suburb of Pulheim, who rose to world-class status across the Rhine in Leverkusen,” wrote Allgemeine Zeitung.
“But also a home advantage? Not really. He seems to have forgotten his joy of playing in Liverpool. But not his free-kick skills in the 3-1 win, which boosted his rating.”
Regardless, Wirtz will hope the confidence-boosting moment on Sunday carries into his club form, starting at Burnley this weekend.
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