Football News: Wirtz and Woltemade Review vs Portugal
This review could be heavily Florian Wirtz, but I promised a Nick Woltemade review also given the tentative links to Liverpool FC.
Woltemade - Tall and gangly. From YouTube clips, he looks to have a very decent touch for a tall guy and there was definitely flashes of that throughout the game. Definitely tried his best to occupy the centre halves. The other thing I would say was this was a difficult game to judge him because bar Wirtz, Kimmich and Ter Stegen the German team was absolute pants.
This was also either his debut or close to it so I'm sure he was nervous. And he's only 23 so huge room for growth. He also played a part in the goal with a 'smart' block. He also got a shot off that wasn't too bad. Decent save.
On this game alone, I would say he is absolutely nowhere near Liverpool level. While it looks like there is a somewhat decent player there, I hated his movement all game. Constantly trying to stick defenders. Every time it ended with him on the ground. He just didn't have the strength and power to fend off the defender and make something happen. While he did get a lot of cheap free kicks, I think Liverpool standard is far beyond an ability to stick a defender and flop to the ground.
In this game at least he offered no threat in behind. Absolute zero. Always wanting it to his feet. That was a big no no for me. There has to be at least some threat in behind from a striker. Couldn't even tell you if he is fast or slow as he never tried to open up. While he cut off passing lanes, that was as much as he pressed. Didn't even come remotely close to putting in a tackle. Yeah, on this game alone, I'd be scratching him from the Liverpool targets. To end it as nicely as I can, I would say he needs to develop a bit more to be ready for a big club move.
Wirtz - Honestly, if this is how he plays with absolute lemons, imagine what he could do with the Liverpool team. He is sensational. I don't think there's anything I could write that you haven't already read and watched clips of. The pressing, top drawer. Won the ball back a few times which was more impressive because the rest of the team weren't pressing. What blew me away the most was the movement. It was outstanding.
Always looking for the ball, always available, but not in the most obvious way. You could tell Portugal we're trying to watch him like a hawk, but his movement was just way too good. He would be almost impossible to mark out of a game. He never stops moving to get on the ball. The minute he passes the ball, he is gone to get into the next phase of play. The absolute work rate it takes to keep doing that, time after time after time, it's insane.
So creative, always trying to make something happen and always did. If he only had something to work with. I wish Musiala was fit to play with him. Would have been great to see them work together (at international level only).
Passing was beautiful, and he is tough. Real tough. Well up for a fight. Bernardo Silva left one on him so he trod on Silvas toe. Yellow card worthy, but never a red. The perfect revenge. Silva looked genuinely hurt. And he definitely deserved it after his cheap shot.
I was really interested to to see how Wirtz would respond to the incident too. Because after he trod on Silva's toe, a lot of the Portuguese players went after him. After that, if anything, he showed even more. Big game player with a big game mentality. He tried his best to drag a dire Germany team with him, but in the end, they were just too bad.
My god, almost forgot his goal. Watch it on YouTube. Fantastic header, just to show he has that to his game as well. Amazing player, I just hope beyond hope, he is indeed coming our way.
I want to finish with some other points from the game. The first is Germany, I know they are missing a few, but my god were they dreadful. Sané was insanely bad. The left back, Mittelstädt couldn't cross his legs in this game. Anton came on and will be having nightmares about Conceição tonight. Midfield was dross. Gnabry came on and looked like he was just back from a 6 month injury. I can't undersell how woeful they were. I know Musiala and Havertz would improve them a lot, but the talent pool is thin if this match is anything to go by.
For Portugal, the PSG boys of Nuno Mendes, João Neves and Vitinha are their future. They are class. Conceição was very very bright. They have some real pieces there when they brought them all on in the second half. Way too good for this German side, at least.
Written by Davey Sulls June 05 2025 10:29:13
Discuss rumours and transfers on our Liverpool rumours web page