Florian Wirtz: DFB star celebrates honor in Cologne – whistles expected!

Florian Wirtz: DFB star celebrates honor in Cologne – whistles expected!

The new Bundesliga season has begun and the anticipation for the German national team's first international matches is in the starting blocks. On September 7, 2025, coach Julian Nagelsmann's team will play against Northern Ireland in Cologne. This is the DFB team's first competitive game in the cathedral city in five years. The game will take place at the Rhein-Energie Stadium, where Florian Wirtz, Germany's Footballer of the Year, will also be honored. Wirtz is being recognized for his outstanding achievements after receiving 191 votes in a thrilling vote, beating the likes of Michael Olise and Nick Woltemade Express reported.

Florian Wirtz, who recently moved from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool FC for around 125 million euros, has secured training compensation of around two million euros for his former club. The fact that he originally wanted to play for 1. FC Köln but chose Leverkusen could lead to whistles when he was honored. In addition to Wirtz, Mats Hummels, who ended his career in the summer, will also be honored. Nagelsmann praised Hummels as a role model for the new generation of defenders.

A clear look at the World Cup

While looking forward to the game against Northern Ireland, Wirtz aggressively said that the World Cup title was the clear goal for the German national team. Despite the disappointments, such as missing the Nations League final, Wirtz wants to continue the success story of the DFB team. He combatively emphasized that the team must prove itself as a top team by the 2026 World Cup, which will take place in the USA, Mexico and Canada. The German players have to regain the ability to win games as a matter of course in order to fulfill their ambitions. If you consider that Germany has been world champion four times and is the most successful national team in the history of the World Cup, then Wirtz also has good arguments on his side if he believes in a positive World Cup qualification.

To make a connection to the national team's performance: Germany has taken part in a total of 22 times and played the second most games in the history of the World Cup. Despite all the tradition and passion, the goal is clear: the title must be brought back and the team has no time to lose in preparing for the next big tournament. Germany's World Cup qualification begins against Slovakia on September 4, 2023, before continuing a few days later in Cologne. There they are again, the countless spectators who will come to the stadium for the DFB team and the great football history.

Important dates in the stress of the World Cup

• 4. September 2023: Deutschland vs. Slowakei (in Bratislava)
• 7. September 2023: Deutschland vs. Nordirland (im Rhein-Energie-Stadion, Köln)
• Dritter Gegner in der Qualifikation: Luxemburg

The coming games are crucial to find the form for the 2026 World Cup and live the dream of the title. Because if they want to restore their reputation as the best national team in history, they have to convince right from the start! We can look forward to this and hope that Wirtz and his teammates take the right steps to defend their title.