Praise for performance against Luxembourg
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Again no goal, again no assist. But Julian Nagelsmann vigorously fended off any criticism of Florian Wirtz after the 4-0 win against Luxembourg. “He did well. He tried a lot. He was unlucky in one situation or another. But there’s nothing he can do about it,” said the national coach about the offensive player, who is currently unlucky at Liverpool FC and who could receive the first devaluation of his career in the Premier League’s market value update on October 17th.
In fact, the 22-year-old had shown no signs of his England performance slump in the national team jersey. He just couldn’t manage to score a goal. In the second half, Wirtz hit the post. Nagelsmann reported that he specifically moved him from the center to the left wing to give him more space for his dribbling. Even before the game, the coach had described Wirtz as his “most important offensive player”.
Why Nagelsmann doesn’t like criticism of Florian Wirtz
In general, the national coach dislikes the public assessment of the former Leverkusen player after the at least 125 million euro transfer to Liverpool. “He is still the player who prepares the most chances in the Premier League. If the player doesn’t take the chances, it’s bad for his statistics. But it’s not even a third of the truth,” said Nagelsmann. Former English stars such as Wayne Rooney and Jamie Carragher, among others, recently criticized Wirtz.
Transfermarkt’s England expert Ben Littlemore also confirmed that, from a sporting perspective, the attacking force had “anything but a dream start” at Anfield Road. “Due to the high transfer fee, expectations were also high and although he flashed his obvious quality, the German struggled to make an impact in games. (…) Zero goals and zero assists in his first eight games in the Premier League and Champions League is far from ideal, but it was always clear that he would need a while to get used to the new league and the new team.”
However, Nagelsmann does not sense any sense of crisis. “I find him totally liberated. Flo is a player who knows what he can do. And he knows how things work in football,” assured the national coach after Wirtz’s 34th international match. He scored his only goal this season in a 3-1 win against Northern Ireland in September with a free kick wearing a DFB jersey.
Before the second leg against the Northern Irish on Monday (8.45 p.m./RTL) in Belfast, Nagelsmann referred to the young Rhinelander’s career path. “Not everything fell into his lap. He worked hard for a lot and he will do the same in Liverpool.” A change in mood could come quickly anyway. “As soon as he scores three goals, he’s the king of the transfer. Now he’s a bit expensive. That’s how it is, it doesn’t burden him.” At the beginning of the month, DFB sports director Rudi Völler echoed the same sentiment: “Florian shouldn’t let himself go crazy. I have no concerns about that: he’ll show the English.”