Liverpool absences explained as 'exhausted' winger suffers setback
Liverpool players experienced something of a mixed bag when on duty for their respective national teams on Thursday. Some, though, didn't even have an opportunity for minutes with illness and injury keeping a couple of Reds on the sidelines.
Chief among those was Alexis Mac Allister who, as expected, remained on the bench for Argentina's World Cup qualifier in Venezuela as he manages the muscle complaint that forced him off at half-time during the Reds' 1-0 Premier League win at Crystal Palace last weekend.
In Mac Allister's absence, Argentina drew 1-1 but remain top of the standings. The midfielder is expected to be fit for the home game against Bolivia in the early hours of Wednesday UK time.
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Elsewhere in South America, there was a shock loss for Luis Diaz's Colombia who were beaten 1-0 at 10-man Bolivia. Diaz suffered a disappointing performance and was replaced with 12 minutes remaining, with one local report referring to the player being "exhausted" before being substituted.
In Europe, the calendar was dominated by the UEFA Nations League, Trent Alexander-Arnold played the full 90 minutes but couldn't prevent England falling to a dire 2-1 loss at home to Greece, for whom Kostas Tsimikas was missing through illness. Curtis Jones remained on the bench for the Three Lions.
Ibrahima Konate started for France in their 4-1 win at Israel and briefly wore the captain's armband towards the end, while Caoimhin Kelleher starred for the Republic of Ireland in their 2-1 success in Finland. Wataru Endo, meanwhile, skippered Japan in their 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory in Saudi Arabia.
A number of Liverpool youngsters were also in international action. Kaide Gordon, on loan at Championship side Norwich City, came off the bench for England's Elite League Squad - formerly known as the Under-20s - in their 2-1 win at Italy in the EURO Elite League.
Amara Nallo started for England U19s in their 2-1 friendly defeat to Portugal in Marbella while Kyle Kelly was a substitute for St Kitts and Nevis in their 3-1 Concacaf Nations League triumph in the British Virgin Islands.