Jurgen Klopp has never been shy to voice his displeasure at the strain put on his players by an ever-growing football schedule, with 2022 set to be the toughest year for his squad yet. With Liverpool chasing an unprecedented quadruple, they’ll face a shorter summer break this summer due to next year’s Premier League campaign getting underway early on August 6 to accommodate the mid-season World Cup in Qatar.
Breaking up for the tournament on November 13, ahead of its start on November 21, the Reds will be back in domestic action on Boxing Day - just over a week after the World Cup final on December 18. And with the draw for the tournament taking place on Friday, the German will already have a rough idea of which of his players will have international commitments in the Middle East come winter.
With 32 nations set to compete at this year’s World Cup, 20 countries have already secured their place in Qatar as we come to the end of the final rounds of qualification and play-offs during the March international break. However, the final UEFA play-off will take place in June while two inter-confederation play-offs are also scheduled for the summer.
While Klopp might not be impressed at the added strains of an already-congested fixture-list, the majority of his squad are full internationals and will be desperate to represent their countries in Qatar on the biggest stage of all. So we’ve taken a look at which players already have their sights on winter flights to the Middle East, which players are still fighting to qualify and which players will get to enjoy a lengthy mid-season break...
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Who’s already qualified?
From the 20 nations who have currently qualified, Liverpool boast representatives from England, Netherlands, Spain, Belgium, France, Brazil and Japan. If fit, Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold are Three Lions squad regulars and almost certain to be in Gareth Southgate’s plans for Qatar. Meanwhile, if he can get into the Reds team, Joe Gomez is also a contender, though he continues to be linked with an Anfield exit as he looks to earn an international recall, having not been called up since November 2020 when he suffered the season-ending knee injury that curtailed his progress for club and country.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain won the last of his 35 England caps in November 2019 and hasn’t been called up since, having seen injuries also result in him falling down the Reds pecking order. Another player linked with an Anfield exit in pursuit of an international recall, he is currently an outsider to earn a call-up. Elsewhere, Harvey Elliott and Curtis Jones are England Under-21s internationals and could potentially catch Southgate’s eye in the months ahead.
After missing Euro 2020 through injury, Virgil van Dijk should captain the Netherlands at the World Cup as he eyes up his first major finals appearance. In contrast, Thiago Alcantara’s international future is less certain with the midfielder failing to earn a Spain call-up since their Euro 2020 semi-final defeat and only making a handful of substitute appearances at the tournament last summer.
Divock Origi has returned to the Belgium squad in the last two international breaks following a year-long absence and will be hoping to retain his place for Qatar. However, with his Liverpool contract set to expire this summer, he is unlikely to be a Reds player when the tournament comes around, though a Bosman transfer should bolster his chances of being included.
With France boasting a plethora of elite centre-backs, it would take something special from Ibrahima Konate to force his way into Didier Deschamps’ squad, with the 22-year-old yet to earn a senior call-up and only capped up to Under-21s level. However, he has impressed in his maiden season at Liverpool.
In contrast, Alisson and Fabinho are Brazil regulars and look certain to be called up while Roberto Firmino has plenty of time to earn a recall. Injuries have left the forward without a cap since last summer’s Copa America final defeat to Argentina, but if he can stay fit, he should earn a place in Tite’s squad.
Meanwhile, Takumi Minamino is Japan’s talisman and looks certain to be in their squad after they booked their place last week. The forward has scored 10 goals in qualification to be the joint-fourth leading scorer across the globe and will be hungry to replicate such form in Qatar.
Who’s still looking to qualify?
Only one of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will be competing at this year’s World Cup with Egypt and Senegal currently facing off in the final stages of CAF qualification. It’s the Pharaohs who currently boast the advantage, winning the first leg of their play-off 1-0 in Cairo, with the return fixture taking place on Tuesday.
Diogo Jota will also be looking to secure his country’s place at the World Cup on Tuesday night as Portugal take on North Macedonia in their World Cup play-off final. The forward was on the scoresheet in their 3-1 victory over Turkey last week to leave them 90 minutes away from Qatar.
Wales are also through to a World Cup play-off final after Neco Williams helped them beat Austria last week. However, they will have to wait until June to find out if they are able to take place in this year’s finals, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resulting in the latter’s own play-off semi-final with Andy Robertson’s Scotland being postponed until the summer.
The left-back captained the Tartan Army to their first major finals appearance since 1998 last year, and will now be looking to do the same in the World Cup in June, should they see off Ukraine to set up a play-off final meeting with Wales. Both full-backs would be certainties to be included in their countries’ respective squads if they qualified for Qatar, while Ben Woodburn is an outsider for the latter having played just once for his country since March 2019. However, both Liverpool academy graduates look likely to leave Anfield this summer.
Meanwhile, Luis Diaz scored for Colombia in their 3-0 victory over Bolivia last week to keep their hopes alive. They currently sit sixth in the CONMEBOL qualification table and are unable to qualify automatically for the World Cup with one qualifier left to play.
However, they can still qualify for the inter-confederation play-off spot, though it is currently out of their hands heading into the final qualifier. Peru currently sith fifth and occupy the berth, a point ahead of Colombia and two points ahead of Chile with all three still capable of qualifying. Taking on Venezuela, Diaz will be hoping results go his homeland’s way to set up a play-off with the winners of Australia vs one of United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Lebanon.
Who’s got the winter off?
Guinea were knocked out in the second round of CAF qualification, meaning Naby Keita saw his World Cup dream end back in October. Meanwhile, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Greece all finished third in their respective UEFA groups, failing to qualify for the play-offs in the process, meaning Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, and Kostas Tsimikas also won’t be taking part in Qatar in November.
While Liverpool's squad could look rather different come the summer and, with eight months to go until the World Cup, it's far too early to know which Reds will earn call-ups, as things stand you can perhaps currently predict to see Klopp waving off 11 players to Qatar come November.
