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!
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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