How Liverpool Players Fared On International Duty

Brendan Rodgers would have been concerned about the fortunes of his Liverpool players throughout this international week, but in the end all 15 Reds who reported for duty came through international action unscathed.

Of the collection, it was probably Fabio Borini whose international experience proved to be the most rewarding. The young forward notched the close-range winner which earned Italy’s under-21s a 1-0 victory over Germany.

No doubt Rodgers will hope that the goal helps Borini gain some confidence ahead of the weeks and months to come, but the Reds boss also had to keep track of several other players on international duty over a busy couple of days.

Captain Steven Gerrard and Glen Johnson both played 90 minutes for England against Brazil at Wembley, with both playing their parts as the Three Lions registered a 2-1 win which will boost hopes for the forthcoming World Cup qualifiers.

There were also 90-minute appearances for Luis Suarez in Uruguay’s 3-1 defeat to Spain in Qatar―where both Sebastian Coates and Pepe Reina didn’t get off the bench―and for Daniel Agger in Denmark’s disappointing 3-0 defeat to Macedonia.

Joe Allen played both 90 minutes and a key role in Wales’ 2-1 win over Austria in Swansea―where the midfielder helped set up the opening goal for Gareth Bale―whilst Martin Škrtel played the full game as Slovakia conceded two late goals to lose 2-1 to Belgium in Brugge.  

The Reds’ wealth of youthful talent means that they had plenty of players in under-21 action on Tuesday too, with no less than four Liverpool players lining up in the England under-21 side, which beat Sweden 4-0 in Walsall.

Jordan Henderson captained the team as Stuart Pearce’s men recorded a seventh straight victory, with Jonjo Shelvey bouncing back from a poor miss to notch England’s second goal. Henderson and Shelvey played 45 minutes, whilst defenders Andre Wisdom and Jack Robinson completed the full 90 in a win which featured two goals from former Reds youngster and current transfer target, Tom Ince.

Suso was also in action for his country’s youngsters, and the stylish Spaniard set up a goal for Barcelona’s Gerard Deulofeu in his team’s 1-1 friendly draw in Belgium.