"Sweat dripped from his brow as Florian Wirtz sized up the opposition goal, a gaggle of German men's national teammates surrounding him. The din of the crowd hummed in the background. Pressure was mounting. Germany had plodded and suffered all game long but was suddenly in the ascendancy. Still, the question loomed in the air of a crowd that not long ago was airing their discontent at their own national team. Wirtz himself had gone three Premier League games for Liverpool without scoring or assisting. What could the former Bayer Leverkusen ace conjure on a 72nd minute free kick? A magisterial free kick over the wall and into the top corner, as it turns out! Wirtz's moment of magic sealed the game for Germany and brought the crowd in Cologne to their feet."
"Afterwards, replays showed teammate Joshua Kimmich barking determined instructions to his face just before the pivotal strike. Another typically German moment of set piece conference talk ingenuity? What did the Bayern Munich captain say to steel Wirtz's resolve? Precise instructions for the spin of the ball? A particularly heartfelt motivational speech? An awe-inspiring ode to determination and grit? Maybe a "just picture everyone else naked"? Well - as it turns out - Wirtz had no idea what Kimmich was saying. "To be honest, I don't know," the 22-year-old playmaker revealed after the match (captured via @iMiaSanMia). "Many were talking. It was a good free kick position and I just wanted to try. I'm happy it worked out." Well, how about that. Sometimes, you just have to tune out the noise - even if it's coming from your pals."
Germany struggled early but produced a decisive second-half performance to beat Northern Ireland 3-1. Florian Wirtz delivered a 72nd-minute free kick, curling the ball over the wall into the top corner to seal the victory and energize the Cologne crowd. Joshua Kimmich is visible giving instructions to Wirtz before the kick, though Wirtz later said he did not know what was said and simply focused on the set piece. The result halted momentum concerns after a heavy loss to Slovakia and eased pressure on Julian Nagelsmann's squad.
Read at Bavarian Football Works
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