German Media Cast Clear Verdict on Liverpool’s Florian Wirtz After Luxembourg Display

The German media have delivered a clear verdict on Florian Wirtz’s display as Germany all but sealed World Cup qualification with a 4-0 win over Luxembourg on Friday night. The former Bayer Leverkusen playmaker has struggled to make a sustained impact in the Premier League since his £116 million summer move to Liverpool.

There are clearly some teething problems at Anfield early in the campaign. While Wirtz – Bundesliga Player of the Season for the past two years – has shown flashes of brilliance, he has yet to prove he can lift the Arne Slot era to the next level. At present, Dominik Szoboszlai, Ryan Gravenberch, and even Curtis Jones appear to be ahead of him in the pecking order on form.

Initially, it looked like more of a Liverpool issue, but Wirtz’s latest outing for Germany suggests his luck has run dry across the board. The building blocks are there, but the end product – goals, assists, and the ability to dictate play – is missing. Right now, he looks like a player searching for a spark, rather than one grabbing the bull by the horns like he used to.

A home game against Luxembourg – ranked 96th in the FIFA world rankings – presented Wirtz with the kind of lower-level opposition that should have allowed him to do what he does best: work his magic and create golden opportunities for his teammates in front of goal.

For the most part, that’s exactly what he did. Over 90 minutes, he created one big chance, made four key passes, and completed 88 per cent of his passes. However, he failed with both of his dribble attempts and didn’t win a single ground duel. The German press noted that, while Wirtz showed glimpses of quality, the 22-year-old still lacked a cutting edge. Buli News handed him a 7/10 match rating and wrote (watch his match highlights below):

BILD were far more critical of the Liverpool midfielder, giving his performance a grade four, with their system seeing grade one being the best and grade six being the worst. They did, however, speak up hopes of his redemption, as they wrote:

Providing a comprehensive assessment of Wirtz’s night’s work, Der Spiegel wrote: “He escaped the close marking by moving to the wing, brimming with energy, even if he initially got tangled up in his dribbling.

“On a counterattack in the 32nd minute, he set up Woltemade perfectly, and then Kimmich shortly before halftime, but, as in Liverpool, his teammates’ proliferation of chances seemed to deny him the assists he deserved.” It seemed to be another nearly night for Wirtz, as the outlet concluded: “Just over an hour later, his free kick hit the post. It seems he’s under a spell.”