Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino looks in danger of missing the World Cup after failing to play a single minute for Brazil.
Firmino was called into Tite’s Selecao squad for the first time in over year this month. But having remained on the bench for wins over Ghana and Tunisia, his prospects of making the squad for Qatar don’t look good.
The £29m man missing out would mean that Liverpool may have just six players featuring at this winter’s tournament.
The likes Thiago Alcantara and Trent Alexander-Arnold remain out of favour with their nations. As a result, it could be a lean winter for Liverpool’s international hopefuls.
Half a dozen Reds ready for Qatar
Of course, a fair bit can still happen between now and the World Cup getting underway in November. But as of right now, it looks like Liverpool will have a few players missing the World Cup.
Firmino will surely have to pull a rabbit out of the hat to go. With Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota now available once again, his game time for Liverpool will likely be limited. Unfortunately for Bobby, he’s probably missed his last chance to impress Tite.
There’s better news for both Nunez and Jota, though. The two forwards look certain to head to Qatar with Uruguay and Portugal respectively. Nunez scored for Uruguay on Monday, while Jota has been a key performer for Portugal over the last couple of years.
Joining them in Qatar will definitely be both Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker. As Holland captain, only injury would see Van Dijk miss the competition at this stage. Alisson meanwhile looks to have regained Tite’s faith as his No.1 ‘keeper heading into the games.
Fabinho looks like a sure bet to join Alisson in the Brazil squad. Liverpool’s No.3 has never been a regular starter for his country but rarely misses a squad.
Finally, it would be a real surprise if Gareth Southgate leaves Jordan Henderson at home. Having got himself fit to play the final moments of England’s draw with Germany on Monday, the captain looks set to be Liverpool’s sole representative in the Three Lions squad.
Hope still there for some
Alexander-Arnold may still have something to say about that. But Southgate’s insistence on leaving him out does not bode well at all. Thiago is another still in with a shot, but Luis Enrique appears to have run out of patience with the 31-year-old’s injury issues.
Another with an outside chance is Ibrahima Konate. The big centre-back looked to have timed his international call-up perfectly having made the France squad during the summer.
Unfortunately, injury has seen him miss the whole season so far, which could seriously damage his ambitions. Now back fit, a lot will depend on how quickly Konate can force his way back into Jurgen Klopp’s starting XI.
Elsewhere, Fabio Carvalho has spoken of his dream at securing a World Cup spot for Portugal. Meanwhile Joe Gomez and Harvey Elliott may also still harbour dreams of making a late run at their respective nations.
As things stand though, it would be a surprise to see any of that trio make it to the Middle East.
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