With the 2022 World Cup set to get underway in Qatar on Sunday, Liverpool will have their fingers crossed that their seven players competing in the mid-season tournament can get through it unscathed.
FIFA confirmed the finalised squads and shirt numbers on Tuesday, with Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold called up by England, Alisson Becker and Fabinho named in the Brazil squad, and Ibrahima Konate, Virgil van Dijk, and Darwin Nunez selected by France, the Netherlands and Uruguay respectively.
Yet they won’t be the only familiar faces that Kopites will recognise on show in Qatar, with a number of former Reds stars also earning call-ups. Here’s how they ended up competing in the World Cup after leaving Liverpool behind…
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Simon Mignolet (Belgium)
Having lost his place first to Loris Karius and then Alisson Becker at Anfield, Simon Mignolet left Liverpool to return to Belgium with Club Brugge in a £6.4m deal in August 2019. First-choice back in his homeland, he has made 165 appearances for the club to date over the past three seasons.
A three-time Belgian First Division champion with Brugge, the shot-stopper has competed regularly in the Champions League as a result and made headlines after keeping five clean sheets in this year’s group-stages as his side qualified for the knockout stages and set up a round-of-16 tie with Benfica.
Boasting 35 caps for Belgium, Mignolet remains behind Thibaut Courtois in the pecking order. He has previously been called up for the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, and both Euro 2016 and Euro 2020 without making an appearance.
Belgium are in Group F with Canada, Morocco and Croatia.
Liam Millar (Canada)
Liam Millar left Liverpool on a permanent basis in July 2021 as he joined FC Basel in a £1.3m deal, having previously enjoyed successful stints on loan with Kilmarnock and Charlton Athletic. He’d make one appearance during his time with the Reds, starting against Shrewsbury Town in an FA Cup fourth-round replay.
The forward scored 10 goals during his maiden season in Switzerland and has made 68 appearances for Basel to date, impressing for the club both domestically and in the Europa Conference League.
Boasting 16 caps for Canada, he made his international debut in March 2018 before being included in their squad for the Gold Cup the following year. While he’d miss out on a place in their Gold Cup squad last year, he has done enough over the past year to earn a recall and be included in their squad for Qatar.
Canada are in Group F with Belgium, Croatia and Morocco.
Dejan Lovren (Croatia)
After being relegated to squad player at Anfield, Dejan Lovren joined Zenit St. Petersburg in an £11m deal in July 2020 just weeks after helping Liverpool win the Premier League.
Now captain of the club, the centre-back has made 63 appearances for Zenit to date, and won the Russian Premier League in both of his first two seasons in St. Petersburg. However, he was plagued by injury last year.
Boasting 71 caps for Croatia, the 33-year-old has previously represented his country at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, and Euro 2020. He was a star performer during the last World Cup in Russia as Croatia surprisingly reached the final, only to lose 4-2 to France.
Croatia are in Group F with Morocco, Canada and Belgium.
Raheem Sterling (England)
Raheem Sterling left Liverpool in controversial circumstances in the summer of 2015 as he forced through a £49m move to Man City. Spending seven seasons at the Etihad, he’d score 131 goals in 339 games and won four Premier League titles, the FA Cup and five League Cups.
Despite such success, he started to fall out of favour under Pep Guardiola and was sold to Chelsea in a £47.5m deal this summer. He has scored five goals from 19 appearances for the Londoners to date.
Handed his England debut in 2012, the winger has won 79 caps, scoring 19 goals, and represented the Three Lions at 2014 and 2018 World Cup, and Euro 2016 and Euro 2020. He’d score three goals in the latter as Gareth Southgate’s side lost on penalties to Italy in the final, having finished fourth in the last World Cup in Russia. Meanwhile, he'd also infamously initiate an altercation with Liverpool defender Joe Gomez on international duty in November 2019.
Conor Coady (England)
Conor Coady has enjoyed something of a rise since leaving Liverpool in 2014, having made just two appearances for his boyhood club before joining Huddersfield Town in a £500k deal. The following year he’d cost Wolverhampton Wanderers £2m following an impressive year in the Championship.
Spending seven years at Molineux, he’d captain Wolves to the Championship title in 2017/18 before helping them cement their place in the Premier League. He’d return to Merseyside in the summer after joining Everton on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
Handed his England debut in September 2020, Coady has made 10 appearances for the Three Lions to date and was an unused squad member at Euro 2020.
England are in Group B with Iran, United States and Wales.
Takumi Minamino (Japan)
After helping Liverpool win both the League Cup and FA Cup last season, Takumi Minamino joined AS Monaco in a deal worth up to £15.5m back in June. To date, he has made 14 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, scoring one goal.
Handed his Japan debut in October 2015, the forward has scored 17 goals and won 43 caps for his country and competed in the 2019 Asian Cup. However, he wasn’t called up for the 2018 World Cup or the 2019 Copa America.
Minamino was one of the leading goalscorers in AFC Asian qualification for the 2022 World Cup, scoring 10 goals from 15 games.
Japan are in Group E with Germany, Costa Rica and Spain.
Kamil Grabara (Poland)
A £250k signing for Liverpool from Ruch Chorzow in 2016, the Reds sold young goalkeeper Kamil Grabara to FC Copenhagen in July 2021 in a deal worth up to £3m as he looked to earn senior international recognition. The Pole never made a senior appearance for Jurgen Klopp 's first team, but did feature in their pre-season schedule before the 2018/19 season and was an unused substitute for their League Cup defeat to Chelsea in September 2018.
Making 57 appearances for the Danish side to date, the 23-year-old helped Copenhagen win the Danish Superliga last season and made headlines last month after keeping a clean sheet against Man City in the Champions League group-stages.
Called up by Poland for the first time in March 2022, he has one international cap to date after being handed his debut in the Nations League against Wales back in June. Originally left out of the squad for the World Cup, he was called up to replace Bartlomiej Dragowski after the shot-stopper suffered a broken leg, and will serve as a back-up option to Wojciech Szczesny in Qatar.
Poland are in Group C with Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Argentina.
Sadio Mane (Senegal)
Having won every major honour on offer to him at Liverpool, Sadio Mane called time on his six-year Anfield career to join Bayern Munich in a deal worth up to £35m in the summer. He has scored 11 goals from 23 appearances for the Bavarians so far this season.
Handed his international debut in 2012, the forward boasts 92 caps to date, scoring 33 goals, and helped Senegal win the Africa Cup of Nations back in February. Meanwhile, he scored once during the 2018 World Cup as the Teranga Lions suffered a group-stage exit.
However, Mane is an injury doubt for Senegal for this year’s World Cup in Qatar, despite being included in their squad, after suffering a leg injury in their penultimate game before the World Cup against Werder Bremen.
Senegal are in Group A with Netherlands, Qatar and Ecuador.
Marko Grujic (Serbia)
Marko Grujic became Jurgen Klopp’s first signing as Liverpool manager in January 2016, but was sold to FC Porto in a £10.5m deal in July 2021 having spent the previous season on loan with the Portuguese club.
The midfielder has made 88 appearances for Porto to date, scoring three goals, and twice featured against former club Liverpool in last year’s Champions League group-stages. Meanwhile, he’d help his side win a Primeira Liga and Taca de Portugal double last season.
Handed his international debut in 2016, the 26-year-old has won 17 international caps for Serbia and was an unused squad member at the 2018 World Cup.
Serbia are in Group G with Brazil, Cameroon and Switzerland.
Xherdan Shaqiri (Switzerland)
Having won the Premier League, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and European Super Cup during three seasons with Liverpool, Xherdan Shaqiri signed for Lyon in a deal worth up to £9.5m in August 2021. However, he was on the move again just six months later, ensuring the Reds never received the full fee, as he joined Chicago Fire in a €6.5m February 2022.
A designated player, the playmaker would score seven goals during his first season in the MLS as he made 29 appearances.
Shaqiri has won 108 international caps for Switzerland to date, scoring 26 goals, and has represented his country at the 2010, 2014 and 2018 World Cups, as well as at both Euro 2016 and Euro 2020. Eight of his international goals have come at major international tournaments.
Switzerland are in Group G with Cameroon, Brazil and Serbia.
Luis Suarez (Uruguay)
After nearly firing Liverpool to Premier League glory in 2013/14, Luis Suarez joined Barcelona in a £65m transfer. He scored 198 goals in 283 appearances in his six seasons at Camp Nou as he won four La Liga titles, the Champions League, four Copa del Reys, the FIFA Club World Cup and the European Super Cup.
Signing for Atletico Madrid on a free transfer in 2020, he’d win La Liga again in his first season at the club. Meanwhile, he has just finished a brief return stint with Nacional in his homeland which saw him score eight goals in 16 appearances as they won the Primera Division.
Suarez has won 134 caps for Uruguay, scoring 68 goals, and fired them to Copa America glory in 2011. He scored three goals as Uruguay finished fourth in the 2010 World Cup, and scored two goals at both the 2014 and the 2018 World Cup. However, he'd be sent home early from the 2014 World Cup after being suspended for infamously biting Italy's Giorgio Chiellini.
Sebastian Coates (Uruguay)
Sebastian Coates left Liverpool to join Sunderland permanently in a £2m deal in July 2015, following a successful season on loan at the Stadium of Light, but was sent on loan to Sporting Lisbon the following January. The temporary deal would later be extended before being turned permanent in February 2017.
Now captain of Sporting, the centre-back has made 240 appearances for the club to date, scoring 25 goals, and helped them win the Primeira Liga, the Taca de Portugal and four Taca da Liga.
Handed his international debut in 2011 at the Copa America, as Uruguay won the tournament, his performances would earn him a £7m move to Liverpool. He has won 47 international caps to date, scoring one goal, and featured at both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
Uruguay are in Group H with South Korea, Portugal and Ghana.
Neco Williams (Wales)
A Premier League winner with Liverpool, academy graduate Neco Williams joined Nottingham Forest in a £17m deal in the summer after helping Fulham win promotion to the Premier League last season.
He’s made 15 appearances for the Tricky Trees to date, and started their 1-0 victory over the Reds last month.
Boasting 23 caps for Wales, he made his debut in September 2020 and made three appearances at last year’s European Championships.
Joe Allen (Wales)
Having fallen out of favour at Anfield, Joe Allen joined Stoke City in a £13m deal off the back of a successful Euro 2016. However, the Potters would suffer relegation to the Championship at the end of his second season with the club.
Making 221 appearances and scoring 20 goals in six seasons with Stoke, the 32-year-old rejected the offer of a new contract to re-sign for Swansea City in the summer and has made eight appearances so far this season. However, he hasn’t played since September because of injury.
Despite this, he has been included in the Wales squad for the World Cup, as they make their first finals appearance since 1958, with manager Rob Page hopeful he can recover from a hamstring injury in time for their first game against United States. The 32-year-old boasts 32 international caps to date and was an ever-present at both Euro 2016 and Euro 2020.
Harry Wilson (Wales)
Having been limited to just two appearances for Liverpool and spent most of his Reds career out on loan, Harry Wilson joined Fulham on loan in July 2021 before joining them permanently for £12m after helping the Cottagers win promotion back to the Premier League.
Scoring 11 goals in 37 appearances last season, injury has limited him to just seven appearances for Wales so far this season. However, having returned last month, he proved his fitness in time for the World Cup.
Wilson has won 39 caps for Wales to date, scoring five goals, and made three substitute appearances at Euro 2020. He previously became his nation’s youngest ever player when handed his international debut as a 16-year-old against Belgium in October 2013.
Danny Ward (Wales)
Liverpool sold Danny Ward to Leicester City in a £12.5m deal in July 2018 as they closed in on the £65m signing of Alisson Becker. However, he has had to wait until this season to establish himself as the Foxes’ first-choice goalkeeper following Kasper Schmeichel’s departure.
With 15 of his 34 appearances coming this season, the 29-year-old has kept six clean sheets in his last eight games heading into the World Cup.
Boasting 26 caps to date, he made his international debut in March 2016 before featuring once at Euro 2016. Meanwhile, he was first-choice at Euro 2020 and during qualification for the 2022 World Cup, but has featured in just two of Wales’ last nine matches.
Wales are in Group B with United States, Iran and England.
IN THE DUGOUT
Rigobert Song (Cameroon)
Former Liverpool defender Riogbert Song will be in charge of Cameroon at this year’s World Cup, having been appointed as their national manager back in February following a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations. He previously worked as Cameroon’s Under-23s manager, having also enjoyed a caretaker stint in charge of the senior national side.
Winning 137 caps for Cameroon during his playing career, he captained his country to Africa Cup of Nations glory in both 2000 and 2002. Meanwhile, he played at the 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010 World Cups. He is both the youngest player to have been sent off at a World Cup, aged just 17 against Brazil in 1994, and was the first player to be dismissed at two different World Cups after being sent off against Chile in 1998.
Song joined Liverpool from Serie A side Salernitana in a £2.7m deal in January 1999. He’d make 38 appearances for the Reds before being sold to West Ham United in a £2.5m deal in November 2000.
Cameroon are in Group G with Switzerland, Serbia and Brazil.
Christian Poulsen (Denmark)
Having previously been an assistant manager at Ajax, former Liverpool midfielder Christian Poulsen was appointed as a new assistant coach under Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand in September 2021.
Winning 92 caps during his international career, he represented his country at the 2002 and 2010 World Cups, and both Euro 2004 and Euro 2012. Francesco Totti infamously spat at the midfielder during Euro 2004, while Poulsen was once sent off in the last minute of an Euro 2008 qualifier against Sweden after punching Markus Rosenberg. A penalty was awarded as a result, but it was never taken with the game being abandoned after a supporter ran onto the pitch and strike to punch the referee.
Poulsen joined Liverpool in a £4.5m deal from Juventus in August 2010, making 21 appearances before leaving for Evian for an undisclosed fee 12 months later.
Denmark are in Group D with Tunisia, France and Australia.
Richie Partridge (Qatar)
Richie Partridge left Liverpool to become head physio for the Qatar national team in January 2020, having been a first team physio under Jurgen Klopp at Anfield since 2016. He had previously been a member of the Reds’ academy physiotherapy team before working as a physio with the Under-21s.
A former Liverpool winger, the 42-year-old started his career with the Reds and made three appearances under Gerard Houllier and Rafa Benitez after being handed his debut in an 8-0 thrashing of Stoke City in November 2000.
He’d leave the club to join Sheffield Wednesday on a free transfer in July 2005, and would retire from football in 2011 after attaining an MSc in football rehabilitation - two years after qualifying as a physio.
Qatar are in Group A with Ecuador, Senegal and Netherlands.
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