Luis Diaz inspires 3-goal comeback as 11 Liverpool internationals feature

Liverpool saw 11 players in action on the final day of the international break, with Luis Diaz, Alisson and Darwin Nunez among those to impress.

The final break before the World Cup is finally over, with the Reds now only days away from a belated return to action at home to Brighton.

It has been a busy spell for Liverpool’s internationals, and as Tuesday turned to Wednesday, a total of 11 players were involved with a further six watching on from the bench.

In the early hours, Colombia took on Mexico in their second friendly in the United States, going down 2-0 before the half-hour mark at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

But a triple change at the break, with Luis Sinisterra among those brought on and veterans Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez among those brought off, prompted a comeback.

Diaz’s ambitious wide play on the left was a key feature as Sinisterra scored twice and Wilmar Barrios netted another in a 3-2 triumph for Colombia.

The 25-year-old was brought off in the closing stages in California, before a long flight back to Liverpool.

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Wednesday, June 27, 2018: Brazil's goalkeeper Alisson Becker during the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 Group E match between Serbia and Brazil at the Spartak Stadium. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Spared a transatlantic journey of their own, Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino were all in the Brazil squad for their friendly against Tunisia in Paris.

Alisson was the only one to feature, making a second consecutive appearance of the break in a 5-1 victory, with Fabinho and Firmino both unused.

Elsewhere in Europe, Luis Suarez teed up Darwin Nunez for a much-needed goal, the striker heading home the second in Uruguay’s 2-0 friendly win over Canada in Slovakia.

Nunez played 60 minutes up front, and can take confidence back with him as he returns to Merseyside.

2J1HGP2 Bucharest, Romania. 25th Mar, 2022. Kostas Tsimikas #21 of Greece and Pantelis Hatzidiakos #17 of Greece during the Friendly match between the national teams of Romania and Greece at Steaua Stadium in Bucharest, Romania. 25.03.2022. Photo: Copyright 2020, Credit: Cronos/Alamy Live News

In the UEFA Nations League, there was another clash between Kostas Tsimikas‘ Greece and Conor Bradley‘s Northern Ireland, with the two full-backs starting up against each other.

It was Tsimikas who prevailed, with Greece winning 3-1 in a game that saw Bradley deny a big chance for his club-mate with a brave block.

Diogo Jota looked to follow up his goal against the Czech Republic with a start for Portugal against Spain, but with unable to net another as his country fell to a late 1-0 loss.

SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND - Tuesday, September 27, 2022: Liverpool's Harvey Elliott (L) and Tyler Morton after the International friendly between England Under-21’s and Germany Under-21’s at Bramall Lane. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

The England under-21s took on Germany in a friendly in Sheffield, with Harvey Elliott starting and playing 70 minutes in a 3-1 win as Tyler Morton remained on the bench.

James Balagizi clocked 75 minutes as the England under-20s beat Australia 3-0, with Harvey Davies unused, while Sepp van den Berg helped keep a clean sheet in a 90-minute display as the Netherlands under-21s drew 0-0 with Romania.

Owen Beck made only his second start of the season for club and country as the Wales under-21s lost 2-0 to Austria, clocking 82 minutes, while Melkamu Frauendorf played 75 minutes as the Germany under-19s beat Slovakia 1-0.

Finally, goalkeepers Fabian Mrozek and Vitezslav Jaros were unused for the Poland under-20s and Czech Republic under-21s respectively.