The domestic season is over and the World Cup is around the corner, which means plenty of international fixtures involving Liverpool players—and potential targets.
Reds on tour
While in normal circumstances there would be a host of Reds in the starting 11 of their respective national teams, this week has been somewhat different.
An extended season due to the Champions League final means a few players have been afforded an extra couple of days’ rest, while some managers, of course, are rotating or trying alternatives.
There were a handful of Jurgen Klopp‘s men in action, though.
Dejan Lovren earned a start on home soil, as Croatia played Brazil at Anfield.
The defender was largely impressive and even went close to scoring in the first half, though ended up on the wrong end of a 2-0 scoreline.
In the same game, Roberto Firmino appeared as a second-half substitute, replacing Gabriel Jesus just before the hour mark.
It proved a profitable half-hour too, as he chested down a cross and dinked a cool finish past the goalkeeper in stoppage time to wrap up the win.
Virgil van Dijk and Gini Wijnaldum were part of the Netherlands squad against Slovakia, but neither featured.
Similarly for England, Adam Lallana was an unused substitute against Nigeria. Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold were not involved as they joined up with the squad later.
Finally, Harry Wilson‘s excellent loan spell with Hull City has propelled him up the order of preference with Wales and he started once more for his nation.
He played just over an hour against Mexico in California, with the match ending a 0-0 draw.
Potential arrivals
Given the busy nature of the transfer market right now as teams try to get deals over the line between international friendlies and the World Cup, it’s worth keeping track of the Reds’ potential targets.
Several names have already been linked with a summer move; here’s a run-down of the most frequently linked players and where they’ve been in action.
Nabil Fekir played around an hour against Ireland in a 2-0 win for France, netting the second goal.
He then sat out his nation’s win over Italy on Friday.
Fellow French attacker Ousmane Dembele was a late sub in the first game, but started and scored against Italy, playing 70 minutes.
Christian Pulisic played almost the full game for a new-look United States side as they beat Bolivia on Monday.
Jasper Cillessen was an unused sub alongside Van Dijk and Wijnaldum for Netherlands against Slovakia, but may get another chance to impress on Monday night against Morocco.
He’s not the only goalkeeper mentioned with the Reds who didn’t feature; Jan Oblak has been left out of Slovenia’s squad as they look at other options for the future, and Jack Butland was an unused sub for England.
Long-term target Alisson, however, played at Anfield along with Lovren and Firmino.
The Roma goalkeeper played the full 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet, impressing with the small amount he had to do.
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