The 2026 FIFA World Cup is just over two months away, which means that another star player coming to the Meadowlands to play in the tournament is being put in the spotlight. This week, the attention is going towards Florian Wirtz, an attacking and left midfielder for Germany. Wirtz, who was unable to compete in the 2022 FIFA World Cup due to injury, will have his shot at redemption this summer.
Wirtz began his professional career at Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, debuting for the team in 2020 at the age of 17 years old, starting against Werder Bremen. On June 6, 2020, Wirtz scored his first goal for the club in a 4-2 loss against Bayern Munich, becoming the youngest goalscorer in Bundesliga history in doing so.
On Dec. 23, 2020, Wirtz signed a contract extension with Bayer Leverkusen to remain with the team until 2023. On Feb. 6, 2021, Wirtz scored his fifth Bundesliga goal in a 5-2 win over VfB Stuttgart, becoming the first player in the league’s history to accomplish this feat before turning 18 years old. In May, he further extended his contract with the German club, which was now set to last until 2026. On Nov. 18, 2021, Wirtz scored his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season in a 3-1 win over RB Leipzig to become the first player under the age of 19 to score 10 Bundesliga goals.
After tearing his ACL in March 2022, Wirtz was sidelined for nearly an entire year, returning in January 2023. Wirtz made a full recovery and returned to his old self, scoring his first career hat trick on April 14, 2024 in a game that clinched Bayer Leverkusen’s first German championship. Later that season, the club would go on to reach the UEFA Europa League final and win the DFB-Pokal final, which is Germany’s annual football cup competition. Wirtz’s contributions on the field would lead to him becoming the 2023-24 Bundesliga player of the season.
At the start of the 2024-25 season, Wirtz and Bayer Leverkusen would go on to win the DFL-Supercup, which pits the previous winners of the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga up against one another. That same season, Wirtz made his UEFA Champions League debut, scoring a goal in his first match. Wirtz continued his impressive performance, becoming the first German player to score five goals in five Champions League matches.
On June 20, 2025, Wirtz left his long-time club to join Premier League club Liverpool on a contract exceeding €100 million. The contract made Wirtz the most expensive transfer in Bundesliga history, a record that still stands.
Wirtz made his debut for Liverpool on Aug. 10, 2025 in the FA Community Shield, a competition between the previous season’s Premier League and FA Cup winners, against Crystal Palace. A few days later, on Aug. 15, Wirtz would make his Premier League debut in a 4-2 win over Bournemouth. For the 2025-26 Premier League season, Wirtz has currently accumulated four goals and two assists.
Wirtz would make his debut for the German senior team on Sept. 2, 2021, in a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying match against Liechtenstein. Wirtz was ultimately unable to play in the tournament after tearing his ACL before the 2022 FIFA World Cup began.
On March 23, 2024, Wirtz scored his first senior goal for Germany in a friendly match against France, scoring just seven seconds after the match started. On June 7, 2024, Wirtz was named to Germany’s UEFA Euro 2024 squad. He scored his first goal of the tournament on June 14 in a 5-1 victory over Scotland, becoming the youngest Germany player to score in the tournament. In the quarter-final, Wirtz would score an equalizing goal in the 89th minute to send the match into extra time against Spain, who would ultimately go on to win the game and tournament.
This summer, Wirtz will have the opportunity to play in his first FIFA World Cup after missing his first chance due to an injury. A few weeks ago, on March 27, Germany played a friendly match against Switzerland, winning by a score of 4-3. Wirtz was responsible for all four goals scored in the match, scoring two of his own and assisting both of the others. Wirtz and Germany will come to MetLife Stadium on June 25, taking on Ecuador for a 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage match. Currently ranked as the 10th best team in the world, the squad will look to return to the Meadowlands for the final match, which is being held at MetLife Stadium.
