Isak back in action, Wirtz impresses – how Liverpool stars fared for their countries | OneFootball

After a poor run of form, this international break has perhaps offered Liverpool a welcome break from action.

Across the past week, Arne Slot’s men have jetted off around the world to represent their respective nations. Here is how they all got on:

Florian Wirtz started both of Germany’s fixtures and looks to be finding form. The attacker provided two assists as they booked their place at next year’s World Cup with an emphatic victory over Slovakia.

Another summer signing, Alexander Isak, returned to action for the first time in almost a month. The striker came off the bench for the final half an hour in Sweden’s 4-1 loss against Switzerland. Despite their dismal qualifying campaign, Sweden will still have chance to qualify for the World Cup via the playoffs. They will look to keep their hopes alive against Ukraine in March.

Fellow forward Hugo Ekitike featured in both of France’s matches, scoring his first senior goal in a 4-0 win against Ukraine. Team-mate Ibrahima Konate joined him in their 3-1 victory over Azerbaijan, playing the full 90 minutes and wearing the captain’s armband. They secured World Cup qualification with an undefeated record.

Meanwhile, Andrew Robertson captained Scotland twice, recording an assist in their 3-2 loss to Greece. The left-back was left emotional after their dramatic late victory over Denmark secured Scotland’s first World Cup qualification for 28 years.

Conor Bradley captained Northern Ireland in their defeat to Slovakia and victory over Luxembourg. They finished third in their World Cup qualifying group but have entered the playoffs thanks to their Nations League performance. Bradley and Northern Ireland will face Italy in their playoff semi-final.

Dominik Szoboszlai captained Hungary in both of their matches and provided an assist in both fixtures. The midfielder was joined in the line-up by team-mate Mios Kerkez in both games, who also notched an assist. After defeating Armenia, Hungary’s World Cup hopes came to a heartbreaking end when Ireland beat them 3-2 courtesy of a 96th minute winner.

Virgil van Dijk played every minute for the Netherlands in their 1-1 draw with Poland and 4-0 win against Lithuania. The Dutch captain helped his side confirm their World Cup qualification along with team-mate Cody Gakpo, who joined him on the pitch in both fixtures, scoring and assisting in their second match. Ryan Gravenberch also started in the draw with Poland.

Giorgi Mamardashvili faced disappointment with Georgia as their World Cup qualification campaign concluded with losses against Spain and Bulgaria. After impressing at Euro 2024, the goalkeeper’s nation succumbed to five defeats from their six World Cup qualifying matches.

Alexis Mac Allister shared the pitch with his brother for the first time at international level as Argentina overcame Angola 2-0 in a friendly.

Wataru Endo played his first football in a number of weeks. The midfielder captained Japan as they defeated Bolivia 3-0 in an exhibition match.

Mohamed Salah played the full 90 minutes for Egypt as they geared up for AFCON. They lost 2-0 in a friendly against Uzbekistan.