Germany get much much-needed victory over Northern Ireland

Florian Wirtz scored a sublime free-kick to cap off a fine 3-1 win for Germany over Northern Ireland in World Cup qualifying.

The Germans suffered a miserable start to their qualification campaign when they went down 2-0 to Slovakia on Thursday.

It was the first time Germany had ever lost their opening World Cup qualifier of a cycle, while it was the first time they had failed to score in such a match since 2001.

However, Julian Nagelsmann’s team made some form of amends on Sunday, with Wirtz’s excellent set-piece the highlight of their goals.

The Liverpool playmaker curled a superb effort up and over the Northern Ireland wall in the 72nd minute in Cologne.

Serge Gnabry had put Germany ahead in the seventh minute, dinking home after he was played through by Nick Woltemade, though Isaac Price restored parity before half-time.

Yet Germany, who generated 2.81 expected goals (xG) to Northern Ireland’s 0.28, made their dominance count when David Raum squared for substitute Nadiem Amiri to slot into a gaping net in the 69th minute.

Wirtz’s free-kick put the gloss on a much-improved display, with Germany third in qualifying Group A, level on points with Northern Ireland. 

Wirtz has not quite clicked into full gear yet in the Premier League, but the former Bayer Leverkusen star showed what he is all about as he led this match for chances created (three) and then, of course, drilled in that sensational free-kick.

The 22-year-old also led Germany for shots on target (two) and duels won (seven).

Germany have now won 10 straight games against Northern Ireland. Only against Albania (12) and Finland (13) have they reeled off more wins in a row.

The Germans will look to build on this momentum on the next international break in October when they host Luxembourg.