As the international break gets underway this weekend, several Liverpool players have already been in action.
Friday saw a productive day for a couple of Reds pulling on the colours of their countries. Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo both played as they battered Andy Robertson’s Scotland 4-0.
Conor Bradley was also out on the pitch for Northern Ireland, playing the full game in a 1-1 draw with Romania. Another to get a run-out was Alexis Mac Allister, who played 17 minutes during Argentina’s 3-0 win over El Salvador, while Luis Diaz was the pick of the bunch, registering a superb assist as Colombia beat Spain 1-0.
Today was the turn of Caoimhin Kelleher, who was given the nod for Ireland after a sensational run of form as Liverpool’s starting goalkeeper.
How did Caoimhin Kelleher play for Ireland
Kelleher is usually fighting a losing battle with Southampton’s Gavin Bazunu for Ireland’s No.1 shirt. However, he was rightfully picked for today’s clash with Belgium.
It was a big test for Kelleher, but having stood up to every challenge thrown his way at Liverpool recently, the 25-year-old won’t have been phased.
And that bears out in the post-match rating given to him by Irish outlet RTE. Kelleher bagged himself a clean sheet as Ireland secured a 0-0 draw, although his rating of 6/10 suggested that he didn’t have all that much to do. What he needed to do though, it sounds like Caoimhin did it well.
“Passed the ball out with authority and control while Belgium pressed high into the final third,” says the rating. “A solid performance from a goalkeeper who only made one ‘real’ save during the 90 minutes – a terrific stop to deny Thomas Meunier in the 76th minute.”
Are any other Reds in action today
As well as Kelleher, there are set to be two more Liverpool players in with a chance of some minutes today.
After being called up to a first squad in over three years, it will be interesting to see whether Joe Gomez get his opportunity for England.
With 45 minutes gone in the Three Lions game against Brazil at the time of writing, Gomez has not yet been afforded any game time.
Even with Manchester City’s Kyle Walker going off injured at right-back, Gareth Southgate opted to throw centre-back Ezri Konsa on instead.
If Gomez looks unlikely to get on, then it also seems uncertain that Ibrahima Konate will either. The centre-back has not been named in the starting line-up for France’s match against Germany.
With Konate only just coming back from injury, it maybe wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world if he’s kept on the bench this evening.