International roundup: Ibrahima Konaté defeated Virgil van Dijk, while Liverpool forward Diogo Jota faces a bid to unseat Cristiano Ronaldo.
Many of Jürgen Klopp’s players are playing for their countries, even though Liverpool won’t be back in action in the Premier League until next Saturday – another early kickoff, this time in the Merseyside derby against Everton. There are still a tonne of games to come.
While Kostas Tsimikas (Greece), Diogo Jota (Portugal), Virgil van Dijk (Netherlands), and Ibrahima Konaté (France) were all competing in European Championship qualifying on Friday, England met Australia in a friendly at Wembley. Tuesday’s qualifier between England and Italy might determine whether the Three Lions advance to the 2024 European Championship in Germany.
There are still games scheduled during the international break, including Brazil’s match against Uruguay’s Darwin Nez in the middle of next week, Colombia’s match against Ecuador, and Argentina’s match against Peru a few hours later. On Monday, Portugal plays Bosnia while Greece plays the Netherlands.
Here is the most recent update on how the Liverpool players are doing while representing their countries, with Dominik Szoboszlai and Hungary scheduled to play Serbia later today and Lithuania on Tuesday.
(England) Trent Alexander-Arnold
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was chosen for the England team as a “midfielder,” actually played right back against Australia. The main focus of attention, though, was Jordan Henderson being booed off the field after being replaced in his first Three Lions game on home soil since relocating to Saudi Arabia.
According to Liverpool.com, the fact that Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane weren’t on the second-string team that Alexander-Arnold was playing for tells a lot about how his nation feels about him. Henderson, on the other hand, probably should have prepared for some sort of blowback. Even Gareth Southgate’s remarks about how perplexed he is by it are perplexing.
Kostas Tsimikas (Greece)
Kostas Tsimikas, a major contributor for his nation and a member of the winning team, kept a clean sheet against Ireland in Greece’s 2-0 victory in Dublin. The first goal was assisted by Tsimikas.
Andy Robertson dislocating his shoulder, according to Liverpool.com, so Tsimikas might have a few more opportunities at Liverpool in the coming weeks. It is therefore not a bad thing for him to be in good shape.
Portugal’s Diogo Jota
Diogo Jota played for just the final four minutes of regulation time (including any additional time in the second half) as Portugal defeated Slovakia 3-2. Gonçalo Ramos was chosen as the number nine player instead of Jota, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice.
Before the Euros next summer, Jota should aim to establish himself as a regular member of the Portugal squad, according to Liverpool.com. He will be able to do that if he performs well for Liverpool, but his goal is to surpass either Ramos, who is currently playing for PSG or Ronaldo, depending on their current positions and ages.
In addition to Pedro Neto and Joo Félix, Roberto Martinez has a wide range of attacking options to pick from. However, Jota is as prepared as anyone to have a significant effect on the global stage.
(Netherlands vs. France) Virgil van Dijk vs. Ibrahima Konaté
In the conflict between the Liverpool center-backs, Virgil van Dijk lost. Ibrahima Konaté’s team went two goals up thanks to an incredible goal from Kylian Mbappé, then Quilindschy Hartman scored a consolation goal to make the score 2-1.
The outcome means that France has qualified for the competition taking place next summer, where Konaté should be hopeful of playing a significant role. Despite playing one fewer game, the Netherlands are now three points behind Greece in the standings.
According to Liverpool.com, Van Dijk and the Netherlands faced a challenging challenge against what is likely the tournament favourite. The injury to Cody Gakpo made it even more challenging.