Josh Lawless
Florian Wirtz was slammed by multiple outlets in Germany despite a stunning free-kick in the win over Northern Ireland on Sunday night.
After a shock 2-0 away loss to Slovakia on Thursday, Julian Nagelsmann's side got back to winning ways with a 3-1 victory at the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.
Serge Gnabry opened the scoring in the World Cup qualifier, before Isaac Price levelled for the visitors.
Nadiem Amiri put Germany back in the lead before Wirtz sealed the win with a dipping 25-yard free-kick.
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Yet the worldie strike was not enough to convince members of the German media, who were critical of his display off the back of a slow start to life at Liverpool following his £100 million switch.
In their ratings, BILD gave Wirtz a grade three and said: “For a long time, as was the case during the Slovakia match, we wondered: Where has our magic foot from his Leverkusen days gone? But then he let it rip, hammering the dream free kick into the net to make it 3-1!”.
Wirtz got a four from Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, who were also fairly damning about how he fared on the pitch.
They wrote: "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. 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.”
Few can deny that Wirtz is blessed with ability and winning the German Football of the Year for 2025 was no fluke yet the criticism from Suddeutscher Verlag is that Wirtz is trying too much and must revert to keep things simple on the ball.
The outlet stated: "His exceptional ball skills also brought occasional moments of joy to the Cologne crowd, but Florian Wirtz is currently having problems with his technique.
"Too often he seeks personal salvation in it when he wants to create something truly special with solo performances. Sometimes it borders on the need to make a name for himself. "He then loses himself in stubborn dribbling instead of keeping the game flowing with a simple pass. Intended as a playmaker, but rarely identified as such."
Lastly, Neunzig gave Wirtz a grade two and said he had "little impact on Germany's play in the first half" before his 73rd minute free-kick.
Yet to open his account for the Reds, Wirtz will head back to Liverpool to prepare for the trip to Burnley on 14 September - where record £130 million signing Alexander Isak could make his debut.