German press hammer 'invisible' Florian Wirtz as Liverpool star disappoints

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Liverpool's £116million signing Florian Wirtz endured a nightmare evening as Germany crashed to a shocking 2-0 defeat against Slovakia in their FIFA World Cup qualifying opener on Thursday night.

Sadly for the Reds' new star, he was powerless to reverse his fortunes even in more familiar surroundings.

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Germany were compelled to enter World Cup qualifying after their failure to triumph in the UEFA Nations League on home turf this summer, and now the Slovakia reverse marks the nation's maiden away qualifying defeat.

On a positive note: Against Arsenal, Wirtz delivered his best competitive performance so far in a Liverpool jersey.

There's still room for improvement – but he's heading in the right direction.

"Now, fans are hopeful that Wirtz will make his mark at Liverpool and with the DFB – ideally this Sunday in the World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in Cologne."

Peter Ahrens, writing for Der Spiegel, commented: "If he hadn't been there, it's unthinkable.

But not much else will be remembered from this game about what made Wirtz one of the hottest football stocks on the planet.

"He failed to get into the spaces his teammates expected him to be in.

conceded?

"The day before the match, the national coach was asked whether Wirtz could expect leniency because he has to readjust his game after his move from Leverkusen to Liverpool.