Sweat dripped from his brow as Florian Wirtz sized up the opposition goal, a gaggle of German men\u2019s national teammates surrounding him. The din of the crowd hummed in the background. Pressure was mounting.<\/p>\n
Germany had plodded and suffered all game long but was suddenly in the ascendancy. Still, the question loomed in the air of a crowd that not long ago was airing their discontent at their own national team. Wirtz himself had gone three Premier League games for Liverpool without scoring or assisting.<\/p>\n
What could the former Bayer Leverkusen ace conjure on a 72nd minute free kick?<\/p>\n
A magisterial free kick over the wall and into the top corner, as it turns out! Wirtz\u2019s moment of magic sealed the game for Germany and brought the crowd in Cologne to their feet.<\/p>\n
Afterwards, replays showed teammate Joshua Kimmich barking determined instructions to his face just before the pivotal strike. Another typically German moment of set piece conference talk ingenuity<\/a>?<\/p>\n What did the Bayern Munich captain say to steel Wirtz\u2019s resolve? Precise instructions for the spin of the ball? A particularly heartfelt motivational speech? An awe-inspiring ode to determination and grit? Maybe a \u201cjust picture everyone else naked\u201d?<\/p>\n Well \u2014 as it turns out \u2014 Wirtz had no idea what Kimmich was saying.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be honest, I don\u2019t know,\u201d the 22-year-old playmaker revealed after the match (captured via @iMiaSanMia<\/a>). \u201cMany were talking. It was a good free kick position and I just wanted to try. I\u2019m happy it worked out.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, how about that. Sometimes, you just have to tune out the noise \u2014 even if it\u2019s coming from your pals.<\/p>\n Wow\u2026Germany was on the ropes vs. Northern Ireland, but a strong second half effort helped Julian Nagelsmann\u2019s team pull away for a 3-1 victory.<\/p>\n It was ugly at times and desperate at others, but this was somehow a must win match for a squad that was absolutely reeling after getting stomped out by Slovakia earlier in the week. The Germans absolutely needed this victory and it could have been disastrous had things not turned around in the latter stages of the game.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get into it. This is what we have on tap for this edition of the Bavarian Podcast Works \u2014 Postgame Show:<\/p>\n