Football | Florian Wirtz should lead the DFB team to victory against Serbia

In the defeat against Greece last Sunday, Wirtz remained pale after being substituted on. Photo: imago/Moritz Müller In Herzogenaurach, the sports complex used by the German national team has been continually refined over the years. This also includes opaque tarpaulins that cover the entire fence. When the DFB elite practices behind closed doors, not even the children at the adjacent company daycare center can peek through a crack. Perhaps the first two secret units in Franconia helped things run better this Thursday in the third Nations League game against Serbia.

One person in particular should be looked at in the arena in Munich, which is by no means sold out: Florian Wirtz, who should finally ensure the lack of creativity in the German game. The 23-year-old becomes a beacon of hope simply because of the cross-connection to Liverpool FC with Jürgen Klopp. “Everyone who loves football can still see what an extraordinary player he is,” emphasized the national coach recently in the DFB quarters.

The highly talented footballer's field of activity should once again be the center in order to break down the Serbian defensive barrier. As ten directly behind the leaders, where Hoffenheim's Bambasé Conté was not convincing in his debut against Greece (0-1). In Liverpool, too, they "now absolutely understand where he has to play," said Klopp about Wirtz and his playmaker role under the new Reds coach Andoni Iraola: "That's in the center, in the half-spaces."

Predecessor Julian Nagelsmann had mostly positioned the free spirit on the left flank to give him more freedom. However, the Cologne native played his last outstanding international game from this position in March in the 4-3 win against Switzerland, when he shone with two goals and two assists in St. Jakob Park.

At the World Cup in North America, the high-end technician also fell short of expectations. Wirtz prepared Felix Nmecha's very first World Cup goal in the 7-1 win against Curaçao, and it was his cross that Kai Havertz directed into the goal to equalize in the round of 16 against Paraguay, but overall the effort and return were not in a good relationship. Wirtz couldn't find the space to enliven the static German game. Let alone that he scored a goal in his first World Cup participation - he missed the 2022 World Cup in Qatar due to the after-effects of a torn cruciate ligament.

After the failures of Jamal Musiala and Havertz last week, hopes now rest on Wirtz. The 46-time national player should immediately be the source of inspiration and ideas. His early call-up before the Greece game already seemed like a cry for help, but after his substitution, Wirtz had little effect in Augsburg. Although he collected 31 touches of the ball, he had no successful dribbling, no crosses, and no shot on goal.

It's interesting that the national coach didn't want to comment on Wirtz in the run-up to the game against Serbia: "It would create headlines. No matter what I say: It's going to be a huge deal, especially in England." But Klopp wouldn't be Klopp if he hadn't had something ready: The 59-year-old referred to the fact that the star purchase from last summer, after the tragic death of Diogo Jota, came into a Liverpool team "in which there were an incredible number of players for whom football had understandably moved far back on the list of priorities."

But the complicated discovery phase at Anfield Road can no longer be an argument. Liverpool coach Iraola has put his number seven in the starting line-up in all Premier League games of the new season so far. Klopp thinks you shouldn't just look at goals and assists, but also at passes and pressing. Florian Wirtz now has coaches at club and national team level who trust his football skills.

Basically, the ball is now in the player’s court. A sense of success against Serbia would help everyone – Wirtz himself, as well as his advocates in the dugout.

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