Liverpool players continue to put their country’s first during the summer break.
The Reds have 14 players out in the United States and in Germany at the Copa America and Euro 2024.
So far, it has been a decidedly mixed bag for the Liverpool squad members who are searching for international glory.
Some, like Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk have gotten off to a good start. But others, Dominik Szoboszlai and Trent Alexander-Arnold possibly chief among them, have been disappointing.
Alexander-Arnold in particular has been subject to scrutiny after England put in two of the most abject performances you’ll ever see. With Gareth Southgate struggling to get his team going, he should be rueing excluding Harvey Elliott from his squad.
Gareth Southgate made to rue Harvey Elliott call
Some Liverpool fans will have no problem with fewer players being involved for their nations this summer.
There’s a strand of thinking that it would benefit the Reds to have as many players as possible back at the AXA Training Centre for day one of pre-season.
There’s certainly logic to that this year specifically, as Liverpool have to get used to the new ideas imparted by Arne Slot.
As Elliott looks to solidify his place in the starting XI, he has a chance to get a jump on some of his teammates. That may benefit him in the long run.
READ MORE: Enzo Fernandez and Dominik Szoboszlai can’t match what Harvey Elliott did at Liverpool in 2023/24
So, from a personal point of view, maybe Harvey will be fine with having not made the England squad bound for Germany. The regrets may well come only from Southgate, then.
After two games, England have quite possibly been the most lifeless team in the European Championship. Their performance during Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Denmark was so very lacking in spark, creativity and energy.
Those are all words that you would associate with Liverpool’s No19. Elliott finished the season in spectacular style for Liverpool, laying on more assists than Cole Palmer and Declan Rice, both of whom made the final cut.
That form should have allowed him to force his way onto the plane. Southgate is now paying for the decision to do the opposite.
England badly missing Harvey Elliott urgency
Elliott was not the most notable creative player to miss out on the England squad, of course.
James Maddison and Jack Grealish were both in Southgate’s provisional group and those two players will feel they could have added something different to the turgid stuff their peers are serving up.
Even Curtis Jones, cut at the same stage as Maddison and Grealish, will feel he could have bettered what has been on display so far.
But in our opinion, Elliott is the one who could have made the biggest impact. The 21-year-old was brilliant from the bench all season for Liverpool. He became Jurgen Klopp’s go-to substitute. As Joe Cole commented, Elliott has been ‘fantastic‘.
With Southgate assessing his options to come on and change things, Elliott could certainly have been the one to inject urgency and energy where it has badly been lacking.
England could yet turn things around and even win the tournament, in which case, fair enough. For the time being though, Southgate’s call to overlook Elliott is looking more ridiculous by the day.