Florian Wirtz excels for Germany in their international friendly against Finland, which took place in the MEWA Arena in Mainz, as the German National Team starts their preparations ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Germany played Finland in a friendly as preparations for the tournament began. The friendly took place in the MEWA Arena in Mainz.
Florian Wirtz featured for Germany, playing 73 minutes as a left winger, scoring what is possibly the easiest goal he’ll have to score in his career. In the 48th minute, the Liverpool star doubled Germany’s lead with a tap-in, very reminiscent of Alexander Isak’s first goal for the Merseyside club against Southampton.
Florian Wirtz scores for Germany in their friendly against Finland.How did Wirtz play?
The answer Liverpool fans have been accustomed to this season. Florian Wirtz played very well for Germany this evening.
Julian Nagelsmann has once again managed to get the best out of Wirtz, something former Liverpool head coach Arne Slot failed to do at a consistent level.
He looked confident, pulling off flicks and tricks, attempting key passes, trying to shoot in different areas of the pitch, and, of course, he scored a goal.
There wasn’t much need for defensive actions, as Germany dominated possession at 65%, but he still managed three recoveries and contested in four duels.
This was a Bayer Leverkusen Wirtz performance. One we’ve seen at times during his debut season at Liverpool, but not week in, week out.
Heatmap of Florian Wirtz performance vs Finland (via SofaScore)The stats (via FotMob)
Minutes played - 73
Accurate passes - 38/42 (90% completion)
Shot accuracy - 3/6 (50% on target)
Touches - 55
Touches in the opposition box - 8
Successful dribbles - 1/3 (33% completed)
Final 3rd Passes - 4
Recoveries - 3
Duels Won - 1/4 (25% success)
Notably, Florian Wirtz took the most shots out of any player in the game with six - he achieved seven shots combined in his last four games for Liverpool.
He has yet to take six shots in a single game for Liverpool; the most is five in a match against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Will Wirtz shine at the World Cup?
Florian Wirtz has the chance to get some respect put back on his name. The largely unjustified criticism diminishes just how talented the 23-year-old German is.
Today, he formed an excellent partnership with his age-mate, Jamal Musiala. A duo that Bayern Munich fans were hoping to see for their 25/26 campaign.
His goal against Finland takes his tally to eight goal contributions (four goals and four assists) in Germany’s nine matches played throughout this season.
There’s no doubt about it, if Germany is going to succeed at the 2026 World Cup, Liverpool’s starlet is going to play a major part in them doing so.
