‘This will hurt’ – Liverpool player has been dealt ‘cruel blow’ after enduring ‘season to forget’ | OneFootball

Almost a year to the day after securing a move to newly-crowned Premier League champions Liverpool, Jeremie Frimpong is reeling from being omitted from the Netherlands squad for the 2026 World Cup.

On Wednesday, Oranje coach Ronald Koeman named his 26-man selection for the tournament, which includes three Reds players in captain Virgil van Dijk, Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch, all of whom are likely starters in North America next month.

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However, the standout news was the omission of the Anfield right-back, who paid the price for an injury-plagued season during which his form has been questioned by some former LFC players.

World Cup omission ‘will hurt for Frimpong’

In an article for The Athletic digesting the news of Frimpong’s World Cup omission, Gregg Evans opined that it’ll come as a massive personal setback to the Liverpool player, who’d been consistently selected for his country over the past two years when available.

In a section headlined ‘This will hurt for Frimpong’, the journalist wrote: ‘This will feel like another cruel blow for Frimpong who has had a season to forget…a rotten run of injuries has derailed his progress, and ultimately it’s those setbacks that have cost him a place on the plane.’

Evans added: ‘Given his lack of time on the pitch and the struggles he’s faced recently, it’s no great surprise that he’s missed out, but that’s not to say it won’t hurt. At 25 years old, time is still on his side, but this knock back will sting for some time.’

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Frimpong will have a point to prove for Liverpool next season

It’ll certainly come as a huge dent to Frimpong’s pride that he’s missed the chance to go to the World Cup, an opportunity he won’t have for at least four more years.

This scenario would’ve seemed unimaginable when he found the net just 20 minutes into his Liverpool debut in the Community Shield last August, but unfortunately that afternoon at Wembley wasn’t a sign of things to come.

Having been a reliable source of goal contributions in his final three years with Bayer Leverkusen, the 25-year-old ended his first campaign with the Reds with just two goals and assists each, his progress being stunted by recurring hamstring injury problems.

Jan Molby issued a stinging verdict on Frimpong last month when he said that our number 30 ‘plays like a kid‘, and while the Dutchman has stood out with his pace, other important qualities have unfortunately been lacking from him so far at Anfield.

At least his omission from the World Cup will give him a full summer to rest up before hopefully coming back for pre-season in July reinvigorated and freshly motivated to prove a point to Koeman by starring for Liverpool throughout the 2026/27 campaign.