Florian Wirtz has lift-off! Germany edge out Northern Ireland in World Cup qualifying thanks to Liverpool new boy's brilliant free-kick & David Raum's creative genius

Germany suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Slovakia in their opening Group A game in Bratislava, but responded well to see off Northern Ireland on Sunday thanks to goals from Serge Gnabry, Nadiem Amiri and Wirtz.

Julian Nagelsmann's side made a strong start to the game at RheinEnergieSTADION, with Serge Gnabry getting on the end of Nick Woltemade's through ball before chipping Bailey Peacock-Farrell to give the hosts an early lead. Germany continued to dominate the ball through the opening half hour, but Northern Ireland found a way back into the game after capitalising on Antonio Rudiger's sloppiness. Crystal Palace's Justin Devenny's corner kick found Isaac Price, who managed to get away from the Real Madrid defender and slot in a delightful equaliser on the volley to make it 1-1 heading into the half-time break.

Germany continued to look out of sorts in the first 15 minutes of the second half, until Peacock-Farrell's misjudgement of a lovely David Raum's pass allowed Nadiem Amiri to nip in and score into an open net to put Nagelsmann's team back in front. Liverpool star Wirtz then rounded off a crucial victory for Germany with a perfectly struck free-kick from 20 yards out to give himself lift-off for the season and put his country back on track in World Cup qualifying.

Wirtz has had a slow start to life at Liverpool after his big-money summer move from Bayer Leverkusen. As such, a return to the German national team came at the right time for the midfielder, who showed that class is permanent with his superb free-kick against Northern Ireland. Raum was the standout player for Germany on the night, though, as he provided a constant creative outlet on the left flank. It was his technical mastery and vision that opened up the game just when it looked like Northern Ireland might steal a result.

Rudiger has also been struggling with form at the start of the new season, but failed to show his quality in Cologne despite coming up against a Northern Ireland lacking quality upfront. The Real Madrid star's complacency gave the visitors a route back into the game, and he picked up an early yellow card that prevented him from sticking to his usual aggressive style of play.

Nagelsmann and Germany will still know that they have to work on their tactical setup when they return to action in October for their next set of World Cup qualifiers. Germany will face Luxembourg before travelling to Northern Ireland for a return fixture.