There has been an onslaught of talk surrounding Wirtz following his slow start to his career at the Premier League champions following his €125m move from Bayer Leverkusen. 

Klopp on Liverpool’s summer signing:

Everyone continues to give their thoughts on the 22-year-old’s start to his time in England, from Julian Nagelsmann to Rudi Völler. Now, former Liverpool manager Klopp has weighed in on the current hot topic: 

“I don’t have to worry about Florian Wirtz because his quality is so outstanding. Of course, everything is fine, and everyone knows that. The discussion is certainly being blown out of proportion. Liverpool have just lost three games in a row – it’s unusual for something like that to happen after such a long time. But it’s also normal in life. That’s why these things are discussed. I’ve been in the middle of such discussions long enough now, and I can tell you: Nothing could interest people less than the public discussions that are taking place there. So it doesn’t matter, and everything will be fine. (Wirtz is) a once-in-a-century talent, and at some point he’ll show that in every game again, as he did at Leverkusen. (He has) a stable environment at Liverpool, and the club is great in moments like these. If anyone’s worried—you don’t have to! You can stop.”

Wirtz’s slow Liverpool start:

The reason there is so much discussion surrounding Wirtz is because of the fact that he has yet to register a goal or an assist in the Premier League or Champions League. On top of Liverpool’s recent poor run of form, the 22-year-old has been used as a scapegoat for their problems, even though most of the Premier League champions’ problems are coming from other players in the team. 

Everyone familiar with Wirtz’s style of play knows that once it clicks, he will be fine. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan

Nagelsmann found himself in hot water during last month’s international break after he made some arrogant comments about the state of Northern Irish football. As soon as his team completed their 4-0 win over Luxembourg in the first of the October international break’s qualifying fixtures, Nagelsmann attempted to speak more respectfully of his upcoming opponent.

“They’re a feisty team,” Nagelsmann said of the next nation his squad is due to face whilst speaking at the Friday post match press conference. “And then in Belfast with the fans, who are very emotional. It’ll be a different ball game than today.”

“There were some talk that I had badmouthed Northern Irish football, but I didn’t,” Nagelsmann added as he prepared to board a plane bound for the Isle on Sunday “I clearly stated that the long balls they play are extremely difficult to defend against.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

Woltemade was not among the players who scored in Friday night’s 4-0 win over Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier. As the German national team prepares to head to Belfast for their second qualifying fixture of the October international break, there’s certainly some pressure on Woltemade’s shoulders. Nagelsmann has tapped Woltemade to lead the line as the lone starting centre forward in all five of his senior caps. 

“Nick just has to keep at it,” Nagelsmann remarked at a Sunday press conference before his team boarded their flight. “He’s on a good run at Newcastle, he’s scored several times there. He’ll score for us too. It may take another five games before he scores, or six or seven, but that’s not so bad. He’ll score eventually, and then he’ll score a few more times.” 

After Germany suffered an upset loss against Slovakia during the September international break, Woltemade was among the players booed in Köln following a weak first half against Northern Ireland in the second qualifying match. The German game didn’t truly pick up until Woltemade was subbed off in the 61st-minute.

Nagelsmann made clear he supported Woltemade in spite of the poor reception. Woltemade drew some whistles in Sinsheim on Friday when he missed an early chance. Oftentimes looking sluggish upon his return from a flu-like infection, German fans in the stands Woltemade’s fitness issues as a chance to register their discontent with his decision to depart the Bundesliga. 

“We don’t have to worry about the nature of the [footballing business],” Nagelsmann said when commenting on the Friday scenes during a Sunday press round. “We just have to get stuck in.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Kicker reports on the absence of Schade and Atubolu. The former was called up to replace Leweling, but will still not receive a chance to earn his first cap in nearly a year. Atubolu’s playing prospects as the fourth choice keeper behind Hoffenheim’s Oliver Baumann, Stuttgart’s Alexander Nübel, and Augsburg’s Finn Dahmen were always slim. 

Atubolu earned a late call up due to the fact that Baumann was struggling with injury. Baumann nevertheless recovered in time to feature for the full 90 minutes in Friday night’s 4-0 win over Luxembourg in the Sinsheim-based stadium of his Bundesliga club. Schade did not make Julian Nagelsmann’s matchday selection. 

Nagelsmann’s team to Belfast on Sunday accompanied by the Germany U21s, who will also be contesting qualifying fixture for the 2027 U21 European Championship at the Belfast Oval on Tuesday. Antonio Di Salvo’s DFB Juniors weren’t as successful as Nagelsmann’s crew on Friday night, dropping their qualifying match against the Greek U21s.

GGFN | Peter Weis

The defeat constituted the first loss for the German U21s in a qualifying match in nearly four years. Way back at the beginning of Di Salvo’s tenure, the U21s fell 0-4 to Poland at the WirMachenDruck Arena in Aspach on November 11th, 2021. Since then, despite a disappointing 2023 Euros and some defeats in friendlies, Di Salvo’s youngsters went 16 qualifying fixtures without a defeat.

The search for answers was on following the Friday loss. The fact that Di Salvo’s selection remains injury-ridden certainly didn’t help. In addition to the four players who have officially departed DFB camp, Southampton centre-back Joshua Quarshie (a regular starter) was unable to play on Friday. Two players Di Salvo called up late – Eintracht Frankfurt’s Elias Baum and Dynamo Dresden’s Julian Pauli – have also had to leave camp injured. 

Bayern Munich midfielder Tom Bischof – another eagerly anticipated U21 debutant – was given the captain’s armband and did register an assist on Tom Rothe’s 2-2 equalizer. The rising FCB midfield talent nevertheless lamented the team’s sloppy start when conducting his post-match interview with ProSieben MAXX. Di Salvo, too, referenced errors in his own interview. 

“We have to be present from the very first minute onward and have enough balls to play forward,” Bischof told the German broadcaster. “We were simply afraid to play the ball forward. The spaces were too big. We should have closed down the field more. If we had done that, it would have been a better game more like the victory we envisioned.”

“I warned them [the team] about the Greeks,” Di Salvo added. “We made too many simple mistakes. Then the mistakes pile up because your confidence drops. We cannot afford any more mistakes or slip ups.“

Seimen’s goalkeeping error was emblematic of the entire error-strewn first half that simply didn’t work. Poor marking off a free-kick in the 13th enabled Konstantinos Kostoulas to score the opening goal. Less than a minute later Seimen fumbled a back-pass in front of the onrushing Stefanos Tzimas. The former Nürnberg striker collected the ball and then proceeded to out-deke Seimen for the 14th-minute 0-2. 

The clearly rattled German hosts made several more embarrassing amateurish errors before the half was out. Seimen recovered a bit to make some quality saves, but was himself spared further blushes by some lucky bounces and tight offside decisions. Seimen and the rest of the DFB defensive ranks looked out-of-sorts on Dimitris Rallis’ match-winning 2-3 in the 81st minute.

The 19-year-old Seimen certainly didn’t look like someone capable of challenging Werder Bremen keeper Mio Backhaus’ hold on the Germany U21 No. 1 slot. The current SC Paderborn loanee also almost certainly didn’t look like the net-minder his parent club VfB Stuttgart have earmarked to replace No. 1 Alexander Nübel next season.

“Of course, I’m extremely aggravated about it,” Seimen said of his mistake in the mixed zone on Friday night. “But it’s happened now and I have to put it behind me. I just thought I could kick the ball away. I’m pretty disappointed, but life goes on.“

“He knows full well that he made a mistake and there’s no escaping that,” Di Salvo added at the post-match press conference. “Logically, he had to clear the ball [out into touch], but I’m annoyed at how it came to that back pass. We simply played back unnecessarily.

“Mistakes are part of football and it happens,” Di Salvo was then sure to emphasize. “I will talk to him and build him back up, just as Klaus Thomforde [the goalkeeping coach] will. It happened. We will put it behind us. It’s all the more reason to pull together and do better [against Northern Ireland] on Tuesday.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

After Germany took some time to unlock the Northern Irish defense en-route to a 3-1 victory, Nagelsmann accused his guests of playing “boring and optically dull football characterized by long balls“. Famous veterans of the Northern Irish team shot back. Former Northern Irish wide man Chris Brunt, for example, noted that he didn’t know his country was under any obligation to play beautiful football for Nagelsmann. 

O’Neill took his turn two days ahead of the re-match. 

“Germany also played a lot of long balls,” O’Neill is quoted as saying in a BBC piece. “It’s not my job to prepare my team for the other coach coming here and beating us. It’s my job to set up my team in such a way that it’s as difficult as possible for the opponent, and that’s exactly what we’ll do again.” 

The BBC piece notes that Nagelsmann’s loose lips have furnished some “extra motivation” for the hosts. The Green-Whites can actually head into Monday’s encounter feeling quite confident. Thus far in the October international break, the Norn Iron easily vanquished Slovakia; the team that beat Germany convincingly back in September. 

O’Neill’s team have not lost at home in their last seven fixtures. Teams that have stumbled in Belfast include highly ranked Switzerland and Denmark. Germany themselves continue to stumble and can’t exactly declare themselves back on track despite a 4-0 home win over Luxembourg. Nagelsmann’s team were able to go up 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 21st-minute thanks to a Dirk Carlson handball penalty. 

Carlson’s infraction also saw him sent off on a straight red card. Germany thus played the final 68 minutes a man up, often looking disorganized and only scoring two goals in quick succession after the restart. The hosts could only produce four goals out of 31 shots and did very little with a whopping 84 percent possession. 

As Nagelsmann himself put it at a pre-match press conference ahead of the Luxembourg game, sputtering Germany “cannot afford to take any opponent lightly”. The contention in the German press remains that one more loss can and should spell the end of Nagelsmann’s coaching regime. Such an outcome could still come as early as Monday. 

GGFN | Peter Weis

Some 18 months ago, Kimmich returning to the right back role was absolutely not a laughing matter. Nagelsmann – some six months after taking the German national team job – once famously quipped that Kimmich had to “subordinate himself for country“.

Kimmich nevertheless seemed to have no problems talking about his latest right-back deployment when speaking to journalists in the mixed zone after Germany’s 4-0 win over Luxembourg in a Sinsheim-hosted World Cup qualifier. 

Germany’s dire need at the right-back position means that Kimmich must “subordinate” his personal wishes once again. The now 30-year-old at least now knows how to maintain his sense of humor about it. 

“That’s great,” Kimmich responded when a reporter pointed out that his latest move out of the midfield constituted a big topic. “That means you don’t have to ask any questions about it.“

“In goal,” Kimmich answered when the same reporter asked him what his favorite position to play in was. 

Kimmich then needed to wait a few seconds while the laughter among the assembled members died down.

“There’s no need for him [Nagelsmann] to make a [permanent] decision,” Kimmich continued. “If he [Nagelsmann] needs me there for the team or for the [tactical] constellation, he doesn’t have to ask.

“He doesn’t have to make a decision,” Kimmich concluded. “I can play in both positions. He can set it up in accordance with what’s needed against the opponent. Whatever is needed.“

GGFN | Peter Weis

For Nagelsmann, and indeed many football nerds, Wirtz’s performance thus far at the Premier League champions has been severely underrated. Irrespective of which statistics aggregator one turns to, Wirtz still possesses decent expected goals (xG) and expected assist (xA) totals. 

It’s not entirely certain which source Nagelsmann drew upon when speaking on Wirtz last night, but one assumes that the ultra-modern “metric-centric” footballing guru and his coaching staff did their research with regard to Wirtz’s sluggish Premier League start. 

“He is still the player who creates the most chances in the Premier League,” Nagelsman remarked last night at the post-match press conference. “If the player doesn’t convert the chances, it’s bad for his statistics. But that’s not even one third of the truth.

“Flo is a player who knows what he can do and how things work in football,” Nagelsmann continued. “He had to work hard to get where he is. We know how things work: as soon as he scores three goals, he’ll be the king of all summer transfers. Right now, he’s an expensive addition, but that doesn’t weigh on him.”

Nagelsmann went on to discuss the specifics of Wirtz’s performance last night. Wirtz – like he did against Northern Ireland in September – nearly converted a free-kick. A 62nd-minute dead ball effort from Wirtz struck the post. Fine passes to Leon Goretzka (16th) and Nick Woltemade (33rd) also deserved assists.

“He did well and tried a lot,” Nagelsmann said of Wirtz’s overall game. “He was unlucky in a few situations, but can’t be blamed for that.“

Prior to kick-off in Sinsheim last night, Wirtz was awarded a trophy commemorating his selection as Kicker Magazine’s “Footballer of the Year“. Wirtz edged out Bayern attacking sensation Michael Olise and his fellow new Premier League arrival Woltemade to earn the award. 

GGFN | Peter Weis

No further call ups were planned despite the fact that three players departed camp injured this week. The fact that Collins might now mist both matches nevertheless forced Di Salvo’s hand. 

FC Nürnberg fullback Tim Drexler and Dynamo Dresden centre-back Julian Pauli are on their way from the Germany U20s, who are actually not currently participating in the ongoing FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile. Neither Drexler nor Pauli (both 20) have been capped at U21 level before.

Di Salvo is already without Brighton’s Brajan Grada, Union Berlin’s Aljoscha Kemlein, and Hertha’s Linus Gechter. Eintracht Frankfurt fullback Elias Baum and Dynamo Dresden midfielder Kofi Amoako have been called up to replace Kemlein and Gechter. 

Di Salvo explained his reasoning at a Thursday press event, explaining that missing too many players left him unable to run 11-aside training sessions. Collins remains eligible, but the squad still looks rather different than it did seven days ago.

The Full squad

Goalkeepers:

Dennis Seimen (SC Paderborn), Max Weiß (FC Burnley), Leon-Oumar Wechsel (GKS Tychy)

Defenders:

Hendry Blank (Hannover 96), Nnamdi Collins (Eintracht Frankfurt), Julian Pauli (Dynamo Dresden), Tim Drexler (1. FC Nürnberg), Leandro Morgalla (VfL Bochum), Joshua Quarshie (FC Southampton), Tom Rothe (Union Berlin), Elias Baum (Eintracht Frankfurt), Lukas Ullrich (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Midfielders:

Noel Aseko Nkili (Hannover 96), Muhammmed Damar (TSG Hoffenheim), Said El Mala (1. FC Köln), Kofi Amoako (Dynamo Dresden), Mert Kömür (FC Augsburg), Paul Wanner (PSV Eindhoven), Tom Bischof (Bayern Munich), Assan Ouédraogo (RB Leipzig)

Forwards:

Ilyas Ansah (Union Berlin), Dzenan Pejcinovic (VfL Wolfsburg), Nicolo Tresoldi (Club Brugge), Nelson Weiper (Mainz 05)

GGFN | Peter Weis

After impressing off the bench in three consecutive matches under new B04 head coach Kasper Hjlumand, Poku appears to have earned a regular starting spot. The former AZ Alkmaar man has started on the left-hand-side of the top attacking axis in the last Bundesliga and Champions League fixtures.

Poku is also on a roll, scoring in his last two Bundesliga appearances. Transfermarkt reports that Poku is in line for an October upgrade. The youngster’s estimated market value will be tripled from €4m to €12m. For the moment Poku is spending the October international break with the Dutch U21s. 

Although Poku has been representing Holland since the U16 level and – following a strong U21 European championship this summer – nears the top Dutch level, it’s worth noting that he remains a native of Hamburg who lived in the Hanseatic city state for the first seven years of his life. 

Poku still understands some German and scored his first Bundesliga goal in his hometown against St. Pauli. In an interview with Holland’s Voetbalzone, Poku seemed open to making the country of his new club employer his new national allegiance. 

“That would be entirely possible, but at the moment I’m just focusing on the Oranje,” Poku told the online portal. “Whatever happens, happens. I was glad to score my first Bundesliga goal in Hamburg. I work hard every day and give my best at Leverkusen and Jong Oranje.“

GGFN | Peter Weis