(Video) Florian Wirtz answers his critics with spellbinding quickfire assists in Germany romp
Florian Wirtz has had to endure plenty of criticism within England during his time at Liverpool so far, but he’s shown just why the Reds spent big to sign him with his performance for Germany tonight.
The 22-year-old was selected to start by Julian Nagelsmann for his country’s World Cup qualifier against Slovakia in Leipzig, with the home side needing only a point to clinch their place at the finals next summer.
By half-time that had already become a formality, with the four-time world champions 4-0 up by the interval, and our number 7 had a big part to play in two of the goals.
Wirtz provides two assists for Leroy Sane
In the 36th minute, with Germany leading 2-0, Wirtz played a one-two with Nick Woltemade near the halfway line before picking out Leroy Sane with a majestic lofted pass into space, and the Bayern Munich attacker took one touch to set himself before slotting the ball past Martin Dubravka.
Just five minutes later, the same two players combined once more to extend the home side’s lead even further. This time the Liverpool playmaker made his way infield from the left flank and, from the edge of the penalty area, floated a cross to the ex-Manchester City forward to make it 4-0.
(Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)
Wirtz is silencing his critics with sublime Germany performance
It might be disappointing that Wirtz is yet to score for Liverpool after 16 matches and has just three assists for the Reds, but some of the criticism which has been labelled at him is ridiculous.
One such example is Gary Neville saying that the 22-year-old ‘looks like a little boy’ in the Premier League and has been a ‘problem’ for Arne Slot, with the Sky Sports pundit rounding on the Germany international all too hastily.
Our number 7 has been sublime for his country in the first half against Slovakia, providing two delightful assists for Sane and running the opposition ragged.
Hopefully he can bottle that standard of performance and bring it back to Merseyside with him for the remainder of the season, starting with the visit of Nottingham Forest to Anfield on Saturday.
You can view Wirtz’s two assists for Sane below, via @Mikinaldo_ and @FOXSoccer on X:
Another great ball from Wirtz, and another goal for Sane pic.twitter.com/JthJOIOwel
— Michael 🇳🇬🇺🇸 (@Mikinaldo_) November 17, 2025
Wirtz to Sané AGAIN 🇩🇪🔥 pic.twitter.com/I3uTrUWHad
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) November 17, 2025
