Florian Wirtz was off the pitch by the time Germany fell victim to the biggest shock of the World Cup so far, as Julian Nagelsmann's team were dumped out of the tournament in the first knockout round by unfancied Paraguay. The embarrassment was plain to see as a stunned Nagelsmann sat with his head in his hands, surrounded by a floored squad seemingly paralysed by the enormity of their failure.
Wirtz's Marginal Role in Germany's Exit
At least Liverpool's £116m signing was spared the pressure of taking a penalty, instead watching as his compatriots missed three times before the dogged South Americans completed the most unlikely of upsets. Wirtz came away with a smart assist for Kai Havertz's equaliser before being withdrawn in extra-time for fresh legs.
A quick look at the 23-year-old's tournament stats shows that although he did not score, he clocked up three assists in four matches. But Germany are out, and that assist tally doesn't reveal how marginalised Wirtz appeared in a team he is supposed to be one of the stars of.
Comparison with Liverpool's Use of Wirtz
One of the annoyances of Liverpool's miserable Premier League title defence was how often he was deployed by Arne Slot on the left-hand side when he had surely been signed as a goalscoring No.10. For Germany, Nagelsmann opted for Jamal Musiala in the central role for the first two group matches, before switching to a 4-4-2. As a result, Wirtz spent almost the entire tournament on the left, with predictable results given what has been seen at Anfield since last August.
The former Bayer Leverkusen prodigy has an effortless ability on the ball that can make other professionals look like mere mortals, but what is yet to be seen is an ability to take a game by the scruff of the neck and dictate play. While he has taken time to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, he had a similar issue overcoming the agricultural nature of the Paraguay players, who looked ready to tackle a tank.
Iraola's Challenge Ahead
If the World Cup was meant to tell more about Wirtz ahead of the new Premier League season, it is difficult not to feel like more of the same was seen. A unique talent who appears to struggle to be fully influential in match outcomes. That would be less of an issue if Liverpool hadn't broken their transfer record to bring him to Anfield.
It can be true that both Slot and Nagelsmann have failed to get the best out of him, whilst also arguing that Wirtz has not yet blossomed into the dominant star he threatened to become. The chance to see whether another coach can extract maximum impact from him, just as Xabi Alonso did at Bayer Leverkusen, will come when Andoni Iraola starts working with Wirtz in a few weeks.
The signing of Victor Munoz from Osasuna and the failed pursuit of Yan Diomande from RB Leipzig suggest that the Reds' new head coach is building pace, trickery and aggression around a central attacking role for Wirtz. But much like fellow record signing Alexander Isak, the jury is very much out on whether the lofty expectations his transfer fee demands will ever be realised in a red shirt.
It will be as much a test of Iraola's coaching and management skills as of Wirtz's desire to be a leading light for the Reds. His disappointment of exiting the World Cup so early can be tempered by the fact that he will now return to pre-season training earlier than expected, and the hard work with his new manager can start straight away.
Wirtz could have taken the easy option and gone to Bayern Munich. Now he must prove he was right to join Liverpool; otherwise, it would be little surprise if in 12 months he was on his way back to the Bundesliga, wondering what could have been.
