Five of Arne Slot‘s Liverpool players were in action on Friday night as three were victorious but two suffered defeats.
Lisbon is where we start, as Diogo Jota scored his second goal in two games in Portugal’s 2-1 friendly loss to Croatia.
Luka Modric converted an early penalty for the visitors and it took until the second half, after Jota replaced Goncalo Ramos at the break, for Portugal to equalise.
The leveller came just three minutes after half time, when Jota peeled off from his marker and tapped in Nelson Semedo’s accurate low cross.
Liverpool’s No. 20 also scored in Roberto Martinez’s side’s previous friendly, a 4-2 win vs. Finland in which he started up front.
Elsewhere in Europe, Dominik Szoboszlai was forced off early but later allayed injury fears, saying he was “fine.”
Northern Ireland haven’t qualified for Euro 2024, but they were still in international action as Conor Bradley and co. lost heavily to Spain.
After their 5-1 defeat, Bradley told Sky Sports: “I haven’t spoken to him (Slot) yet. Haven’t heard too much to be honest but I’m really looking forward to it.”
The South Americans
It was a very successful evening for Liverpool’s two South Americans, as Luis Diaz and Alisson both won in pre-Copa America friendlies.
Diaz was in action for Colombia, against the USA in Washington DC, and was left literally dancing with joy during the 5-1 victory.
While Diaz didn’t score, he played 71 minutes and clearly enjoyed himself, evidenced by his dancing following Rafael Santos Borre’s brilliant overhead kick.
On the subject of dancing, Diaz also recently appeared in the music video of a song by Colombian musician Ryan Castro. On the track, The Rhythm That Unites Us, Diaz even gets a mention!
Elsewhere in the US, Alisson played for Brazil as they beat Mexico 3-2 in Texas thanks to a 96th-minute winner from Endrick.
Having missed his country’s last two matches due to injury – a win against England and draw vs. Spain – Alisson was back in goal and is expected to be the first-choice goalkeeper for this summer’s Copa America.
The tournament starts on June 21 (UK) and will see Brazil take on Costa Rica, Paraguay and Diaz’s Colombia in the group stage.
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