Nuñez masterclass, Szoboszlai & Van Dijk penalties: How Liverpool's players fared on international duty
By
Dan Vassie
Dan Vassie
The second international break of the season is finally over (even if the next one is in less than a month), but how did the Liverpool lads get on in the second round of fixtures?
Despite the break from competitive club football, this international break has actually been quite entraining from a Reds perspective, with many of Jurgen Klopp's players performing well for their nations across the various qualifiers and friendlies.
These national fixtures have had everything; lots of goals, last-minute winners and penalty misses, with the Reds heavily involved all over the globe.
However, it hasn't all been good news, with both of Liverpool's Scotsmen Andy Robertson and Ben Doak picking up injuries, forcing them to miss the second round of fixtures and head back to Merseyside.
But how did the rest of the Reds get on this week?
MONDAY, 16 OCTOBER
- Greece 0-1 Netherlands
- Bosnia 0-5 Portugal
- Egypt 1-1 Algeria
- Ukraine U21 3-2 England U21
What a phenomenal evening for Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk as the defender not only captained the Netherlands to victory against Greece in a Euro 2024 qualifier, but he even scored the winner in the last-minute.
It took until the 93rd minute for the Dutch to break down Greece, when they were awarded a penalty in the dying moments of the game. Van Dijk (who else?) stepped up and buried an ice cold spot kick to win the game (despite having laser pens shone in his eyes) and put his side in pole position to qualify for Euro 2024.
The only downside is that the goal came at the expense of another Red Kostas Tsimikas, with Greece now sitting behind the Netherlands in third place in Group B on goal difference, having played a game more than Van Dijk's side.
Elsewhere in the Euro 2024 preliminaries, Diogo Jota was introduced in the second-half against Bosnia-Herzegovina, and while he didn't pick up a goal contribution, Portugal ran rampant, winning 5-0 despite already being qualified.
Mohamed Salah was also in action for Egypt, albeit just a friendly. The winger didn't get himself on the scoresheet as his side were held to a 1-1 draw with Algeria.
In Under-21 news, Harvey Elliott captained England's youth side against Ukraine. A memorable night for the youngster ended with an assist, which ultimately wasn't enough as the home side beat England 3-2 with a stoppage time goal. Jarell Quansah was an unused substitute in the match.
TUESDAY, 17 OCTOBER
- Lithuania 2-2 Hungary
- France 4-1 Scotland
- Japan 2-0 Tunisia
- England 3-1 Italy
Dominik Szoboszlai is having some season for club and country.
Hungary found themselves 2-0 down away from home against Lithuania in their latest Euro 2024 qualifier and the 22-year-old captain had to step up.
Step up he did, finding the back of the net from a penalty to give his nation a lifeline, before whipping in a perfect corner to set up the equaliser and rescue a draw from the hands of defeat. The point keeps Hungary top of Group G. What a player.
Ibrahima Konate and Wataru Endo both had success in less competitive action for their countries, as France and Japan faced off against Scotland and Tunisia respectively.
Konate was a starter and played 88 minutes as the French cruised to a 4-1 victory, while Endo captained his nation to a 2-0 win.
Meanwhile, Trent Alexander-Arnold was an unused substitute (somehow) for England, as they comfortably beat Italy 3-1 and officially qualified for Euro 2024.
WEDNESDAY, 18 OCTOBER
- Uruguay 2-0 Brazil
- Peru 0-2 Argentina
- Ecuador 0-0 Colombia
The final round of international fixtures saw Liverpool's South American lads in action, and Darwin Nuñez, in particular, was in incredible form in Uruguay's latest World Cup qualifier.
The Reds' number nine scored a fantastic header to open the scoring against Brazil, and even provided the assist to secure the 2-0 victory over their big neighbours for the first time since 2001.
Alisson Becker was an unused substitute in the game, and I'm sure he won't mind as even the best goal keeper in the world would struggle against chaos ball.
Alexis Mac Allister's Argentina also had a good result to maintain their perfect start to World Cup qualification, as two Lionel Messi goals sunk Peru.
Finally, some not so good news for Luis Diaz. The Colombian had a second-half penalty saved against Ecuador, during a fairly dull 0-0 draw.
The big question now is whether the South American contingent will be fit, fresh and prepared enough to play in the Merseyside derby on Saturday.
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