Vladimir Smicer has claimed that one Liverpool player in particular will be ‘under pressure’ to perform at this summer’s World Cup.
It’s almost a year to the day since the Reds broke their transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen in a £116m deal (later surpassed by the £125m signing of Alexander Isak), although the Germany international fell short of many people’s expectations in his first season at Anfield.
There were moments of brilliance from the 23-year-old throughout the campaign, but a return of just seven goals and 10 assists in 49 matches felt underwhelming for a player of his enormous talents.
Wirtz scored the first goal of Euro 2024 inside the early stages of the opening match against Scotland, but Smicer has warned that expectations on the Liverpool star to deliver at the World Cup will be higher than what they had been two years ago.
The 2005 Champions League winner told Casinostugan (via Liverpool Echo): “I think the price tag and the transfer money from Leverkusen to Liverpool was big, and the pressure was on Wirtz with statistics about how much his goals and assists cost.
“That pressure from the media and fans is behind him now. He’s preparing for the World Cup with his teammates for the national team, but a player like him will be under pressure all the time.
“You have to perform for Liverpool, and now for Germany. They will expect a lot from him. Two years ago at the European Championship, expectations were not that high, but this time he’s two years older and has more experience.”
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Despite his subdued goal return in his first campaign with the Reds and the frequent and vocal criticism which was levelled at him, Wirtz is set to be a key player for his country at the World Cup and will surely start for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
Their opening match would appear to present the ideal opportunity for him to make a statement to the watching world, with Germany taking on Curacao later today in the Caribbean nation’s first-ever match at this level as they become the smallest country in history to play at the finals (population 155,000).
The 23-year-old has the backing of German legend Jurgen Klinsmann going into the tournament, with the 1990 World Cup winner convinced that Liverpool’s number 7 ‘will only get better‘ over the next few months.
If Wirtz can enjoy some standout performances in North America over the next five weeks, it should see him return to Merseyside with a fresh injection of confidence and a renewed motivation to impress his new boss Andoni Iraola.
It was two years ago today that he helped put Scotland to the sword at Euro 2024. A performance of similar conviction in Germany’s World Cup opener would go some way to answering his critics.
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