Four Liverpool players won international matches on Thursday, with Virgil van Dijk helping the Netherlands keep a clean sheet against Poland’s Robert Lewandowski.
Van Dijk, the Netherlands captain, led his team to a 2-0 victory in Warsaw, playing the entire 90 minutes in the center of a back three.
Lewandowski has already scored eight La Liga goals since joining Barcelona this summer, but he was unable to beat the Liverpool defender.
It keeps the Netherlands top of their Nations League group, three points ahead of Belgium, and Van Dijk’s side in good shape heading into this year’s World Cup.
Harvey Elliott came off the bench to play 19 minutes in England’s under-21 win over Italy, while Tyler Morton was an unused substitute.
Elliott was one of eight players who entered the game shortly after the 70-minute mark, and he was used as part of a front three in a 3-4-3 formation. Rhian Brewster, a former Reds striker who now plays for Sheffield United in the Championship, scored both goals.
Ben Doak, 16, scored after just seven minutes on his Scotland under-21 debut, with the Liverpool under-18 prospect introduced 31 minutes into their 3-1 win over Northern Ireland.
The winger scored after latching onto a through ball on the right wing and racing forward to finish past goalkeeper Dermot Mee at the near post.
In doing so, he broke Billy Gilmour’s record as the youngest-ever goalscorer for Scotland U21s, while also becoming the second-youngest appearance-maker.
Doak moved from Celtic to Liverpool for £600,000 earlier this summer, and he has made an immediate impact.
On Friday night, 13 more Liverpool players could represent their countries. Trent Alexander-Arnold is in contention for England’s match against Italy at the San Siro, but Jordan Henderson is being held back for the time being despite his return to fitness.
Egypt’s Mohamed Salah faces Niger, Uruguay’s Darwin Nunez faces Iran, and Brazil’s Alisson, Fabinho, and Roberto Firmino could face Ghana.
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