Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann has confirmed that Florian Wirtz will start against Northern Ireland.
The former Bayern Munich boss also offered Liverpool’s summer signing some advice on improving his gamesmanship.
Wirtz is widely regarded as a supremely intelligent footballer, with an awareness of his surroundings that often makes him appear to have 360-degree vision.
However, Nagelsmann believes there is still room for development in one aspect of his game.
The Germany boss suggested that the 22-year-old “could be smarter” in situations that call for a touch of gamesmanship.
His remarks followed Germany’s 2-0 defeat to Slovakia on Thursday, when Wirtz was dispossessed in midfield in the build-up to the opening goal.
“Flo is an extremely important player for us. He tried a lot on Thursday and will try again tomorrow (Sunday evening), which means he will play,” Nagelsmann said.
“I didn’t speak to him about that moment, but if I did, I would’ve told him that he should fall to the ground because it was a clear foul.
“It wasn’t a regular goal. You should be smarter in the situation and fall, because it was a clear foul.
“It was unfortunate that we conceded a goal, but we didn’t concede it because Flo argued with a player on the halfway line. There were other reasons.”
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