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Germany suffered a miserable start to its qualification campaign when it went down 2-0 to Slovakia on Friday.

It was the first time Germany had lost its opening World Cup qualifier of a cycle, while it was the first time it had failed to score in such a match since 2001.

However, Julian Nagelsmann's team made some form of amends on Monday, with Wirtz's excellent set-piece the highlight of its goals.

The Liverpool playmaker curled a superb effort up and over the Northern Ireland wall in the 72nd minute in Cologne.

Serge Gnabry had put Germany ahead in the seventh minute, dinking home after he was played through by Nick Woltemade, though Isaac Price restored parity before half-time.

Wirtz's free-kick put the gloss on a much-improved display, with Germany third in qualifying Group A, level on points with Northern Ireland.