The November international break is upon us, which gives Liverpool fans a chance to draw breath ahead of a manic end to 2023 which sees the Reds play 10 times in the space of just 32 days.

However, for 16 members of Jurgen Klopp’s first-team squad, the pause to the club season brings no respite, with national team duty beckoning across four different continents. That number would be even higher if injuries hadn’t ruled out the likes of Andy Robertson, Ryan Gravenberch and Ibrahima Konate.

The attention of LFC fans will be divided across the conclusion of the Euro 2024 qualifying groups, two more confederations seeing their heavyweights take the first steps towards the 2026 World Cup, and a handful of British youngsters with eyes on playing at the European Under-21 finals the summer after next.

When can we see Liverpool’s international stars in action over the coming days? We’ve marked your card below!

READ MORE: ‘It’s wrong…’ – John Aldridge urges Liverpool to use ‘joke’ situation as ‘motivation’ v Man City

READ MORE: (Video) Darwin Nunez’s tigerish determination saw one opponent floored during Liverpool win

Thursday 16th

Wataru Endo is the first Liverpool player on international duty over the coming week, set to lead out Japan for their opening 2026 World Cup qualifier at home to Myanmar, who are 140 places lower in the current FIFA world rankings. That game kicks off at 10am UK time.

Thursday also sees the first steps on the road towards the pan-Americas showcase in 2026 for Mo Salah and Egypt, who begin their qualifying campaign by hosting Djibouti, Africa’s third lowest-ranked nation, at 4pm UK time.

Dominik Szoboszlai‘s Hungary need just a point away to Group G whipping boys Bulgaria to secure their place at Euro 2024 (5pm), while Diogo Jota can already look forward to playing at the tournament with Portugal, who should preserve their 100% group record away to Liechtenstein at 7:45pm.

At midnight in the UK (Thursday night in South America with time difference), the four Liverpool players from that continent will be concentrated across two head-to-heads.

The old-age rivalry of Argentina and Uruguay pits Alexis Mac Allister against Darwin Nunez. Elsewhere, Luis Diaz‘s first match in Colombia since the kidnapping and subsequent release of his parents sees them take on Brazil, for whom Alisson Becker is set to start after Ederson withdrew from the squad through injury.

Friday 17th

Just the three Liverpool players in action on Friday night, with the headline act between Trent Alexander-Arnold and England looking ahead to Euro 2024, with Gareth Southgate’s team already qualified as they play host to Malta at 7:45pm.

At 7pm, Ben Doak will be in action for Scotland’s under-21s away to Belgium in a European qualifier. Earlier in the evening, Kostas Tsimikas may feature for Greece in their friendly against New Zealand at 5pm, but Klopp and Reds fans wouldn’t mind seeing him rested for that inconsequential fixture.

Saturday 18th

Three Liverpool players will be in Amsterdam on Saturday night for the Euro 2024 qualifier between Netherlands and Republic of Ireland (7:45pm). Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo will be striving for the win which’d see their nation book their place at the finals of the tournament, while Caoimhin Kelleher is back in the Irish squad after missing their October double header due to injury.

In the European under-21 qualifiers, defending champions England are in Serbia for a 4pm kick-off. Reds duo Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah are in the squad for that fixture, as is Tyler Morton, who’s on loan at Hull City from Anfield.

Sunday 19th

There are three international matches involving Liverpool players on Sunday, all with staggered kick-offs so that Reds fans won’t have to pick and choose.

At 2pm, Szoboszlai and Hungary will be hoping that their concluding Euro 2024 qualifier at home to Montenegro is effectively a chance to celebrate with their fans in the knowledge that their place at the finals had been secured in Bulgaria three days previously.

While their campaign comes to a close, the second step of Egypt’s path towards what they hope will be qualification for the 2026 World Cup sees them travel to Sierra Leone (4pm). Salah might fancy his chances of filling his boots against the team ranked 122nd in the world.

Finally, at 7:45pm, Jota‘s Portugal will aim to finish their Euro 2024 qualification group with a 100% record as they host Iceland, who are likely to be eliminated before then.

Monday 20th

Trent is the only Liverpool player on international duty next Monday night, when England round off their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign away to North Macedonia, against whom the 25-year-old conjured a sublime assist for Bukayo Saka in a 7-0 win for the Three Lions in June.

Tuesday 21st

Having already raged against a third successive Saturday 12:30pm kick-off immediately after an international break, Klopp won’t be overly enthused by the scheduling of the fixtures involving Liverpool players either, with no fewer than a dozen potentially in action on the preceding Tuesday.

Endo is first up as Japan’s second 2026 World Cup qualifier takes them to Syria (2:45pm UK time), which at least means he’ll have a sizeable portion of the journey back to Merseyside already behind him.

If Netherlands haven’t already secured their place at Euro 2024 by Tuesday, Van Dijk, Gakpo and co will surely get the job done away to Gibraltar at 7:45pm. At the same time in the same group, Tsimikas and Greece will be seeking to pounce on any shock slip-ups for the Dutch at home to France.

Two other games kicking off at 7:45 are Ireland’s friendly against New Zealand, when Kelleher may start in place of Gavin Bazunu, and England under-21s’ European qualifier at home to Northern Ireland, with Elliott and Quansah hoping to feature.

Also in the European Under-21 qualifiers, Doak‘s Scotland are away to Hungary with a 7pm kick-off.

In South America, Diaz‘s Colombia are away to Paraguay at 11pm UK time, with Nunez and Uruguay hosting Bolivia half an hour later. Lastly, at 12:30 UK time on Wednesday morning, the eternal rivalry of Brazil and Argentina is renewed, with Alisson going up against Mac Allister.

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For the second time since the start of September, Liverpool have a number of first-team players traversing the globe on international duty over the coming days.

No fewer than 16 members of Jurgen Klopp’s first-team squad have been called up by their countries, a number which’d be even higher had injuries to Cody Gakpo, Caoimhin Kelleher and Stefan Bajcetic not precluded them from being involved.

Several of the Reds’ underage crop have also been selected by their nations, but we’ll focus here on those who are involved at senior level at Anfield.

When can we see Liverpool’s international stars in action over the coming days? We’ve marked your card below!

READ MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold answers James Maddison’s Instagram banter with the perfect riposte

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Thursday 12th

Liverpool’s South American quartet will be in 2026 World Cup qualifying action on Thursday night (or the early hours of Friday morning), with two of them facing each other as Luis Diaz‘s Colombia host Darwin Nunez‘s Uruguay at 9:30pm UK time.

Shortly after that game finishes, Alexis Mac Allister‘s Argentina host Paraguay, while at 1:30am UK time on Friday, Alisson Becker will hope to be in the Brazil line-up to face Venezuela.

Earlier on Thursday night (7:45pm), Andy Robertson can start planning to spend next summer in Germany if Scotland win away to Spain, a result which’d secure their place at Euro 2024.

Mo Salah‘s Egypt have qualified for their own continental finals next year, and their preparation for Africa Cup of Nations sees the Pharaohs take on Zambia at 5pm.

England’s qualifying campaign for the 2025 European Under-21 Championship sees them host Serbia (7:45pm), with Liverpool duo Harvey Elliott and Jarell Quansah among the players in Lee Carsley’s squad.

Friday 13th

Much of the LFC focus on Friday night will be geared towards Euro 2024 qualifying action, although one standout friendly fixture sees England – with Trent Alexander-Arnold back in the squad after being forced to miss out last month due to injury – host Australia at Wembley.

Elsewhere, two of his clubmates go head to head in a marquee European qualifier. The Reds’ centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate will be on opposite sides as Netherlands host France, with the Oranje seeking to avenge their 4-0 thrashing by Les Bleus in the reverse fixture earlier this year.

In the same group, Kostas Tsimikas will be in Dublin to try and help Greece complete a double triumph over Republic of Ireland, who they defeated in June to keep themselves firmly in the qualification picture.

The other Euro 2024 qualifying game with Liverpool involvement is Portugal’s home clash against Slovakia, with Diogo Jota hoping to build up the two goals he netted in his country’s 9-0 romp over Luxembourg last month.

Each of those games has a 7:45pm kick-off.

At the slightly earlier time of 7pm, Ben Doak is set to feature for Scotland’s under-21s in their European qualifier at home to Hungary.

For those of you whose time is your own at 11:35am on Friday morning, you can see Wataru Endo line out for Japan against Canada in a fixture officially billed as the Mizuho Blue Dream Match.

Saturday 14th

There’s just the one Liverpool player to watch out for on Saturday, as Dominik Szoboszlai captains Hungary in their Euro 2024 qualifier at home to Serbia, with whom they’re level on points at the summit of Group G but have a game in hand.

A win for the 22-year-old’s side would put them in firm control to finish top of the group and reach their third consecutive European finals. Kick-off is at 7:45pm.

Monday 16th

For the second time in four days, Van Dijk comes up against a fellow Liverpool defender, with Netherlands travelling to face Tsimikas and Greece in Group B of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Elsewhere, Jota and Portugal could already have booked their place at the finals next June by the time they travel to Bosnia-Herzegovina. Both of those clashes kick off at 7:45pm.

Earlier in the evening, Elliott and Quansah will hope to feature for England’s under-21s in their European qualifier against Ukraine (5:30pm), while Salah‘s Egypt take on Algeria in another friendly with a view towards AFCON (5pm).

Tuesday 17th

There’ll be two more Euro 2024 qualifiers at 7:45pm next Tuesday with Liverpool involvement, including England v Italy at Wembley in a repeat of the final of the most recent edition of the tournament. Trent‘s team endured heartbreak that night but will seek to do the double over the Azzurri in this campaign.

At the same time, Szoboszlai and Hungary will be targeting three points away to minnows Lithuania.

The theme of Reds defenders facing each other during this international break continues, with France hosting Scotland as Konate and Robertson are set to come head to head (8pm).

At 11:10am UK time, Endo‘s Japan host Tunisia in the Kirin Cup, while at 5:30pm, Doak will be in action for Scotland’s under-21s as they take on Malta in a European qualifier.

Liverpool’s international involvement for October culminates with matchday 4 of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. All three games featuring Reds players take place in the early hours of Wednesday morning GMT.

Diaz‘s Colombia are first up in the altitude of Ecuador (12:30am), with Nunez and Alisson in opposition as Uruguay host Brazil (1am). Finally, for those with the fortitude to stay up until 3am, you can see Mac Allister‘s Argentina in action against Peru.

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It was a tough day for Liverpool fans watching the World Cup as the desire for Lionel Messi to claim his first title was replaced with wanting our Ibou Konate to come on and achieve his dreams on the football pitch.

With our No.5 only being handed a brief cameo in extra-time though, any opportunity we had to support him was gratefully received and he certainly made an impact on the pitch.

READ MORE: Liverpool youngster linked with a loan move away to the Championship – report

Argentina’s captain and player of the tournament in Qatar was introduced to our 23-year-old defender during the extra period, when he quickly dispossessed the former Barcelona man in great style.

The PSG attacker had the last laugh by winning the trophy but there’s very little more that our French hero could have done whilst on the pitch and we should all be very proud of him.

You can watch the video of Konate’s tackle on Messi (from 3:48:16) via the BBC iPlayer or @KonateFC on Twitter:

KONATÉ CHOPS DOWN MESSI!
pic.twitter.com/CpxSYbjYGg

— 𝗞𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗙𝗖 (@KonateFC) December 18, 2022

Exclusive: Every word of our Sofyan Amrabat interview with Аnas Bakhkhar – will the Moroccan sign for the Reds?

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Virgil van Dijk is known for being ‘as calm as you like’ on the football pitch but one incident during Holland’s quarter-final match with Argentina showed that he certainly has a fiery side too.

The incident occured after Leandro Paredes fouled Nathan Ake and then fired the ball into the Dutch players on the bench, over came our No.4 to sort the situation by flooring the man on loan at Juventus.

READ MORE: Exclusive: Mark Bennett’s role in Jude Bellingham negotiations confirmed

It started a mass brawl between both sides but helped show to the opposition that the captain of Netherlands wasn’t going to let any of his teammates go undefended and was a real show of leadership.

Unfortunately for our centre-half though, it wasn’t to be his night as his side were dumped out of the World Cup on penalties.

You can watch the video of van Dijk (from 2:19:05) via BBC iPlayer:

EOTK Insider: Liverpool’s Two World Cup Winners and 14 Finalists, ahead of Qatar

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Andy Robertson is in an unfortunate position as a footballer, where he is the captain of his national side but not one that was successful in booking their place in the first mid-season World Cup.

Speaking with Liverpool’s club website, the 28-year-old has discussed how he’s felt watching the tournament: ‘Difficult, not really watched it, to be honest – [I] tried to switch off from football for a couple of weeks. Slowly but surely the last couple of days [I] started watching a couple more of the games and things like that.

‘I was obviously in the other part of the world where time difference was a wee bit [different], and I didn’t want to stay up and watch the games.

READ MORE: (Video) Liverpool target cries on air after historic World Cup victory

It’s hard not to feel a little bit sorry for our man and, despite saying that it was because of the time difference that he hasn’t watched many games, it must be tough to miss out on what would have been one of the biggest moments of his career.

With the next tournament three-and-a-half years away, his long-term international focus will be on trying to qualify for the next edition in USA, Canada and Mexico but for now – the left-back must watch on with envy.

There’s no doubt that returning to play with the Reds will be a big boost and distraction for him and the other players present in Dubai, so let’s hope they transform this frustration into positive displays once the domestic football returns.

For our No.26, it’s clearly been a difficult period for him but one that will also inspire him to go and prove that he’s still one of the world’s best players, despite not being able to show it on the international stage.

EOTK Insider: Liverpool’s Two World Cup Winners and 14 Finalists, ahead of Qatar

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Fabinho became the seventh Liverpool player to appear in this year’s World Cup when he was handed the start for Brazil in their final group game against Cameroon.

Coach Tite made a host of changes to his starting 11 as his side had already booked their place in the knockout rounds and this paved the way for our No.3 to make his debut on this stage.

READ MORE: Ex-Red labels Darwin Nunez ‘dishonest’ and a ‘disgrace’ who is ‘difficult’ for Klopp to control

Although it was set to be a disappointing evening for the 29-year-old as the African nation won the match 1-0, it would have been a day of immense pride for our midfielder.

Let’s hope it’s not his last chance to shine in Qatar for the player, although Jurgen Klopp and our supporters will be happy to see him rested ahead of the return of domestic football.

You can watch the highlights of Fabinho’s performance via เดอะค็อป ไทยแลนด์ on YouTube:

EOTK Insider: Liverpool’s Two World Cup Winners and 14 Finalists, ahead of Qatar

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Liverpool have a host of current and former players at this year’s World Cup and one ex-Red scored for his nation in the final round of group stage games.

Xherdan Shaqiri put his side in a great position to book their place in the knockout rounds in Qatar and the 31-year-old will be hoping to add to his impressive tally of five goals in 11 games at the greatest stage in international football.

READ MORE: Liverpool ‘observing’ a ‘€30m’ midfielder who could be a ‘key player’ for the Reds

With Jurgen Klopp undoubtedly keeping an eye on his current crop of players, we’re sure he’ll have half an eye on those who he used to manage at Anfield too.

The current Chicago Fire attacker has now performed in six major tournaments for Switzerland and will no doubt have half an eye on extending this run in two years time too.

You can watch the video of Shaqiri’s goal via @itvfootball on Twitter:

Xherdan Shaqiri!!!

Switzerland take the lead against Serbia #ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/vMRQzOWO9y

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 2, 2022

EOTK Insider: Liverpool’s Two World Cup Winners and 14 Finalists, ahead of Qatar

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The abhorrent human rights issues within Qatar have been widely discussed already but it looked as though Virgil van Dijk was going to be protesting in the face of the nation and FIFA, during his time on the pitch as captain of Holland.

The idea of wearing the inclusive OneLove captain’s armband was shared by seven European nations and the Netherlands were part of this movement but now it has been announced that this is no longer the plan.

As per a statement on the official website of the Dutch nation: ‘The UEFA working group, of which the KNVB is a part, asked FIFA on September 19 to embrace the OneLove captain’s armband. Today, hours before the first game, it has been made clear to us from FIFA (officially) that the captain will receive a yellow card if he wears the OneLove captain’s armband. We deeply regret that it was not possible to reach a reasonable solution together’.

READ MORE: (Video) Young Liverpool fan sings ‘Mo Salah’ to Evertonian grandad

It’s a shame that the nations couldn’t be stronger and back their players to wear the armband, with it feeling like once any of them received the first bit of criticism – they folded.

However, to save our No.4 from getting a yellow card, which could in turn build up to a suspension later in the tournament, is probably seen as protecting the players.

It would have been so powerful for these seven nations to stand up to those in charge of handing Qatar the competition and would have been a huge inspiration for many.

It looks likely that this will not happen by any of them now and that’s a real shame.

You can view the Tweet confirming this news via @KNVB on Twitter:

FIFA verbindt sportieve sancties aan het dragen van de OneLove-aanvoerdersband.https://t.co/ZvIbLgy7wu

— KNVB (@KNVB) November 21, 2022

EOTK Insider: Liverpool’s Two World Cup Winners and 14 Finalists, ahead of Qatar

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There will be plenty of Liverpool fans tuning in to Uruguay’s games to cheer on Darwin Nunez and the forward has shared his feelings on playing in the World Cup for the first time.

Speaking on Liverpool’s YouTube channel, our No.27 said: “It will be my first World Cup and I will enjoy it very much, as it should be. And, of course, with players that I used to watch on the TV when I was a kid, today I am facing them in the World Cup.”

READ MORE: (Video) Ibou Konate on his ‘little brother’ in the Liverpool squad that he loves

Playing alongside Luis Suarez is a perfect example of how past and present will meet in this tournament and the 23-year-old will be hoping to announce himself on the biggest stage of all.

Let’s hope he can have a happy and healthy experience in Qatar and that we see a confident forward return and be ready to take the Premier League and Champions League by storm.

You can watch Nunez’ thoughts on his first World Cup (from 0:30) via Liverpool FC on YouTube:

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Jurgen Klopp will be watching the World Cup with the hope that his players play well but also that they come back to Merseyside injury free, so that they can make an immediate return to action for the Reds.

Some may not have realised how immediate the return would be though as the boss revealed his winter plans for the squad: “We are in the training camp in Dubai – that’s around the corner [from Qatar], so if somebody has to leave the tournament early they can join us immediately. That’s one of the reasons why we go there.”

READ MORE: (Video) Jurgen Klopp provides four-man fitness update ahead of Southampton clash

Not only will the rest of the players keep training in order to make an instant impact on their return but as soon as any nation is knocked out with our lads in, the club are ready to welcome them straight into training.

It’s good planning and should hopefully reflect on an instant return to full match fitness for all of our squad.

You can watch Klopp’s plans for the World Cup (from 11:57) via Liverpool FC on YouTube:

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There will be two Liverpool representatives in the England squad for this year’s World Cup and Jordan Henderson was quick to share his pride with the call-up he received.

Taking to his Instagram account, our captain uploaded a video of some highlights of his international career, alongside the caption: ‘Huge honour! We will give everything to make the Country proud. ’.

Much of the talk and debate around Gareth Southgate’s squad focused on Trent Alexander-Arnold and although the Scouser was also named as part of the squad, the Sunderland-born midfielder’s place was never in doubt.

READ MORE: Konate’s teammates clamour to congratulate his call-up to French World Cup squad

Leadership, experience and obviously a lot of talent will be provided by our No.14 and we will all wish him well on what will be a hugely significant day in his career thus far and a tournament that he will hope to have a significant role within.

Although many Liverpool supporters are not the biggest England fans, it’s always good to see our players succeeding on the international stage and let’s hope one of our lads returns with a winner’s medal.

More importantly though, let’s hope none of them return with any injury concerns and that Jurgen Klopp has plenty of options to utilise once all the lads return to Kirkby and we prepare for the League Cup tie with Manchester City.

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Jordan Henderson’s role as captain of Liverpool has led to him playing in some of the biggest games in the football calendar and his family have always been by his side whilst he did so.

Speaking with the Guardian, our captain described how witnessing events in Paris before the Champions League final affected his Dad: “It was pretty horrific, when I spoke to some of my friends and my family and my dad, it was pretty bad.

“If the fans weren’t respectful there could have been a lot more problems. I think the fans were amazing.

READ MORE: (Video) Ex-Red bags double as Harvey Elliott stars for England Under-21s

“My dad said after the Champions League final that was him done. When it gets closer to the World Cup… there’s a lot of security elements and things that are going on in Qatar that I’m sure will make people more safe.

“But when you’ve had those experiences, sometimes you think: ‘Is it worth risking it?’ We will have to see closer to the time.”

Anyone who was in France for the game against Real Madrid will understand how harrowing it was, as the Sunderland-born midfielder was clearly told by his family members.

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It’s upsetting that events outside the Stade de France could lead supporters to be too fearful to attend major sporting events again, which is why there needs to be real repercussions for the actions of those in charge.

The Qatar World Cup will hopefully learn from the failure of the stewards and police in charge of UEFA’s showpiece event and that will make it a safer event for everyone in attendance.

Let’s hope we can see our skipper’s father back at matches again soon, when fans are finally no longer treated like animals at football matches.

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Virgil van Dijk has probably received more criticism at the start of this campaign, than he has in the entirety of the past four years he’s spent with Liverpool and he has been trying to explain why.

Speaking with BBC Sport, the 31-year-old reasoned that the World Cup was not a reason for a poor start to this domestic campaign: “Not at all, not at all. I understand, because of the start we had, everyone is looking for ‘why’ because the difference [to last season] is too big – but I can assure you that is definitely not one of the reasons.

“You focus on the game at the time, and that’s definitely what we’re doing.

READ MORE: (Video) Virgil van Dijk reports to first Holland training session ahead of international friendlies

“It is just game by game – and that includes international football. For me, it is two games against Poland and Belgium and then it is Brighton, so that will be the focus. I’m not focusing on what is happening in November.”

There’s no doubt that our No.4 will be dreaming that he can end this campaign with a World Cup winners’ medal around his neck and that will be his overarching priority.

However, as has been the club’s mantra for many years and is clearly something that the centre-half also stands by, all you can ever do is take one game at a time.

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Now his focus is Holland, as it will be this winter in Qatar, but as soon as he wears the a red shirt again – that will be all that matters.

The huge injury sustained at the hand (or legs) of Jordan Pickford, will have taken a toll and there is obviously some that think the defender is worried about another injury this season.

However, his sole focus will be on winning every game and every trophy that comes his way, this season and there’s still no reason why that can’t happen.

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Diogo Jota will be hoping that he can book his place at this year’s World Cup as his Portugal side need victory in a qualification play-off game.

Speaking to the media ahead of his nation’s game against Turkey (via the Portugal football website), our No.20 said: ‘Obviously there is a lack of players who are used to being here, but we trust everyone, we trust 100% in those who were called to replace them.

‘We have to think about those who are here and what we have to do. There is no need to give too much importance to those who are not’.

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‘It is not the ideal situation, but this is where we are. It has to be faced with a lot of responsibility. It gives us a lot of strength to play for Portugal and we have all the conditions to be in the World Cup”

‘All this is always confirmed on the pitch. Turkey are not an easy opponent, contrary to what you might think. They finished second in the Netherlands group and won one of the games [against the Netherlands]. Portugal can prove on the pitch that it is stronger’.

‘We will still see the tactical aspects during today and tomorrow [Wednesday]. We will address within the selection, but I believe that, in a final, it is about effectiveness, trying to make the most of our opportunities, trying to not suffer and not give the opponent many chances’.

The 25-year-old will now have a much higher level of expectation from his home nation’s supporters, thanks to his brilliant performances for Liverpool.

In a side full of stars, it is amazing that they even need to be in a play-off game to try and book their place in Qatar but the former Wolves man will be hoping he can be the hero.

Fingers crossed it’s a successful break from Merseyside for the attacker and that he returns fully fit and ready for a huge final two months.

#Ep41 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: The Champions League QF Draw… and more!

The post ‘It is not the ideal situation’ – Diogo Jota speaks ahead of Portugal’s must-win match against Turkey for World Cup qualification appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.