Georginio Wijnaldum of Holland during the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying match between The Netherlands and Luxembourg at the Kuip on June 9, 2017 in Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Wijnaldum on target as 5 Reds feature for their country – Liverpool FC International Roundup

Five Liverpool players have been in international action over the past few days, enjoying varying degrees of success.

For those supporters struggling without domestic football, the latest batch of internationals have helped fill the void this weekend.

Plenty of Reds squad members are already off enjoying their summer holidays, but a selection have been representing their countries in recent days.

Here’s how they have fared over the weekend.

 

Philippe Coutinho

LONDON, ENGLAND - Saturday, October 29, 2016: Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho Correia in action against Crystal Palace during the FA Premier League match at Selhurst Park. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Much like when Liverpool took on Sydney FC at the end of last month, Australia hosted an interesting friendly on Friday.

Bitter rivals Brazil and Argentina faced each other inside a packed MCG crowd of over 95,000, with Philippe Coutinho starting on the right-hand side for the Selecao.

The 24-year-old played well, but Brazil were beaten 1-0, thanks to Gabriel Mercado’s effort on the stroke of half-time.

 

Lallana the only Liverpool representative for England

LONDON, ENGLAND - Sunday, March 26, 2017: England's Adam Lallana in action against Lithuania during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying Group F match at Wembley Stadium. (Pic by Lexie Lin/Propaganda)

Nathaniel Clyne and Jordan Henderson may have been absent through injury, but Adam Lallana featured in England’s World Cup qualifier away to Scotland.

Adopting a left-sided role, the Liverpool man was relatively quiet barring the odd moment of class, in a match that had a dramatic finale.

Both sides had to settle for a 2-2 draw, with Harry Kane’s last-gasp equaliser cancelling out Leigh Griffiths’ dramatic late free-kick double.

 

Wijnaldum on target

A struggling Netherlands side had a routine 5-0 win over lowly Luxembourg on Friday evening, with Gini Wijnaldum a prominent figure.

The midfielder scored his country’s third goal on the night – his eighth goal in 40 Holland appearances – as his prowess in front continues to catch the eye.

 

Klavan features vs. Belguium

CARDIFF, WALES - Thursday, June 11, 2015: Belgium and Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet during a training session at the Cardiff City Stadium ahead of the UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying Round Group B match against Wales. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Such is Belgium’s quality these days, it was not a huge surprise to see Simon Mignolet and Divock Origi on the substitutes’ bench in their 2-0 win in Estonia.

Neither came on at any point, with Dries Mertens and Nacer Chadli the scorers.

Starting for the hosts was Ragnar Klavan, with Liverpool’s centre-back unable to do anything to prevent defeat, in his 119th match for Estonia.

 

Can enjoys Germany rout

Germany's Emre Can at the international soccer match between German and Slovakia in the WWK Arena in Augsburg, Germany, 29 May 2016. Photo: ANDREAS GEBERT/dpa

Emre Can has arguably the busiest summer of any Liverpool player, with the 23-year-old on Confederations Cup duty for Germany later this month.

The midfielder played all 90 minutes of the world champions’ 7-0 mauling of San Marino in a World Cup qualifier on on Saturday, dominating the midfield battle with complete ease.

Tougher challenges lie ahead in the coming weeks.

 

Ward on bench

Wales travelled to Serbia for an important qualifier on Sunday evening, with Huddersfield play-off hero Danny Ward among those in contention.

The goalkeeper didn’t come off the bench, however, as Chris Coleman’s men drew 1-1, following a second-half equaliser by the hosts.

Ben Woodburn missed out through injury, having initially been named in the squad.

 

And finally… Reds trio are World Champions!

Sunday was memorable for the young Liverpool trio of Dominic Solanke, Ovie Ejaria and Sheyi Ojo, as England U20s won the U20 World Cup in South Korea.

The Three Lions beat Venezuela 1-0 thanks Everton‘s Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal – the first time England have won a major tournament at any level since 1966.

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