6 hours ago
26
For Liverpool, the October international break might have come at a decent time. After Arne Slot's men lost three times in a row, a chance to reset was probably no bad thing — and there have been a few bits of good news since.
Cody Gakpo scored twice from the penalty spot as the Netherlands beat Malta 4-0 in World Cup qualifying on Thursday. Virgil van Dijk, Ryan Gravenberch and Jeremie Frimpong all started the game too.
Gakpo netted once in each half and also provided an assist for Tijjani Reijnders. He and Frimpong — who were playing on either wing — were taken off in the second period, while Van Dijk and Gravenberch stayed on for the full 90 minutes.
Andy Robertson played almost the full match as Scotland beat Greece 3-1 in Glasgow in what is a major boost to its chances of making it to the World Cup.
The Liverpool left-back came off in stoppage time shortly before Lyndon Dykes scored the final goal of the night. Kostas Tsimikas netted for Greece, while Ben Gannon Doak started the match and was subbed after an hour.
Mohamed Salah, meanwhile, scored twice for Egypt on Wednesday to help secure its place at next summer's World Cup. In the process, he became the top African scorer in World Cup qualifying on 20 goals from 29 appearances.
According to King Fut, Salah will remain with the team but won't feature against Guinea-Bissau on Sunday. That is Egypt's 10th and final World Cup qualifier and the result doesn't matter with qualification already wrapped up.
On Friday, Florian Wirtz, who netted for his country in the last international break, will be in action for Germany against Luxembourg. Conor Bradley will play for Northern Ireland against Slovakia.
It remains to be seen whether or not Ibrahima Konate will feature for France against Azerbaijan after he limped off against Chelsea at the weekend but Alexander Isak is confident he can start for Sweden against Switzerland.
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
"I’m ready for 90 minutes if needed — it’s been a month now," he said in a press conference ahead of the clash, via Fotbollskanalen.
"I’ve had a lot more playing time and things have calmed down. I feel in a much better position now than the last time [Sweden played]."
Isak was also asked about how he is settling in at Liverpool. "[It is a ] great team and a city where the team has a good relationship with the fans," he added.
Liverpool returns to Premier League action a week on Sunday with the visit of Manchester United to Anfield. In that game, it will hope that the international break is enough of a bookend to put an end to its tricky run of defeats.
English (US) ·