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Florian Wirtz and Germany will face a decisive game with Slovakia in World Cup qualifying today, needing to avoid defeat to earn an automatic place at next summer's tournament without the need for a play-off.
Julian Nagelsmann's side is currently level on 12 points with the team it will face today, but has a goal difference of three better. Slovakia won the reverse fixture 2-0 in September but a defeat to Northern Ireland has proven costly for it.
Liverpool midfielder Wirtz is set to start the game in Leipzig with the pressure on his shoulders to fire his nation into the finals, which are to be held in the US, Canada and Mexico in 2026.
But his manager has insisted that there should be no reason for Germany to panic heading into the game. More pressure is on Slovakia to get a result, and both sides have the back-up of a play-off if necessary.
"No, it is not an issue (that we could fail)," Nagelsmann said. "Few teams would raise this as an issue, of what could happen negatively.
"We are maybe a bit nervous ahead of tomorrow. There is a lot of appeal in such a game. At the end of the day, we have to take things as they are.
"We would have liked to have won in Slovakia, but it is what it is. We are confident we will play well and get the three points."
In Germany's previous game in this international break, Wirtz played as a number 10 with Leroy Sane and Serge Gnabry on either side of him. Newcastle United's Nick Woltemade scored twice to earn a 2-0 win over Luxembourg.
"We have three points — football is a results business after all — but it was more difficult than we had hoped," Nagelsmann said after the win.
"The first half was once again quite sluggish. We needed the second half to really get ourselves into the game.
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"In the first 45 minutes, we were too static, too inflexible, too unmotivated. The commitment was better in the second half.
"We would have deserved to concede a goal. That didn’t happen, and in the end we took our chances and won the game — that’s the most important thing for me."
Liverpool.com says: It would do Wirtz a lot of good if he could perform well today and help fire his country to the World Cup. Germany won't find it easy against Slovakia but should have enough to the result that it needs.
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