On Thursday, a press release came from FIFA that the World Cup squad would be expanded from 23 to 26 players, and all players could also be available in the match day squad.

That means 11 players on the pitch, 15 players on the bench – and it has been decided that it is possible to make five changes in the championship as well.

This opens up the possibility that some additional Liverpool players could come to the World Cup – depending on how it goes in the first months of the season. The squad will not register until November 13 – eight days before the championship starts in Qatar.

Basically some players in the World Cup

Being one of the biggest and best clubs in the world, there are several Liverpool players who will feature at the World Cup in Qatar.

Those that appear to be almost completely safe, if there are no injuries, are:

Alisson Becker and Fabinho (Brazil), Virgil van Dijk (captain of the Netherlands), Diogo Jota (Portugal), Darwin Nunez (Uruguay), Trent Alexander Arnold and Jordan Henderson (England).

* Takumi Minamino will also play in the World Cup, but there we are just waiting for confirmation that he has been sold to Monaco, and that confirmation could come at any time.

Seven players. That’s one less than at the European Championships last summer.

Manchester City, by comparison, could end up with 17 players at the World Cup. It depends on whether Gabriel Jesus (Brazil), Ilkay Gundogan (Germany) and Zack Steffen (USA) are still City players this fall. All three are connected.

Can give more opportunities

The rule change gives the national team manager a little more room to maneuver, and allows you to bring in some “wildcards” that won’t come, or maybe players who have been out a bit but might deserve a second chance.

Thiago Alcantara can be such a player. He was part of the Spain national team squad for last year’s European Championship – but was then left out until the Nations League in June this year. There he couldn’t play because of an injury.

Ibrahima Konate made his national team debut for France in June due to an injury to another player who had to retire, and if he continues his development, he will have a good chance of participating in the World Cup.

The same goes for Roberto Firmino, who has been a widely used player during Tite for Brazil. The player with 17 goals in 55 international appearances has not featured for the national team since last summer’s Copa America, where he played 45 minutes in the last defeat against Argentina. The likes of Antony (Ajax) and Richarlison (Everton) have come in – but Firmino will still have time to play back in the plans – and also has a routine.

Since Gareth Southgate has spoken about who he will bring with him to Qatar, it looks like most of the players he has used in the last six months. Then it looks bad too Joe Gomez, who has not played for Liverpool since 2020, and for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlainwho may be on his way from Liverpool this summer if there is an offer. Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott plays for England U21, and must have had a fantastic fall if it is to be relevant.

Fabio Carvalho impressed for Portugal U21 national team. If he gets off to a really good start at Liverpool, he could possibly earn a place in the Portugal squad – even though it’s a position in which the Portuguese sit very well.