Liverpool will send eight players to the World Cup 2026, but a much longer list of Reds are missing out through non-qualification, selection decisions and injury. Alisson and Virgil van Dijk are among the names heading to North America, while Ryan Gravenberch, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister, Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo and Alexander Isak are also in the call-up group.

Who is going and who is not

The absence list is long enough to tell its own story. Giorgi Mamardashvili, Freddie Woodman, Giovanni Leoni, Joe Gomez, Milos Kerkez, Jeremie Frimpong, Conor Bradley, Calvin Ramsey, Stefan Bajcetic, Curtis Jones, Dominik Szoboszlai, Rio Ngumoha, Federico Chiesa and Hugo Ekitike are all listed among those not going.

Ekitike is out through injury. Several others are absent because their countries did not qualify, or because they were not selected. The split is neat, but not flattering: Liverpool have a strong top end at international level, yet plenty of the squad will spend the tournament back at Kirkby rather than on the world stage.

What the call-ups say about Liverpool

For a club that endured a gruelling season as defending Premier League champions, the eight call-ups are a decent indicator of how much international quality still sits in the squad. Liverpool finished the 2025/26 Premier League season in fifth place with 59 points, and the individual numbers still back up why some of these players are going.

Virgil van Dijk's 7.28 Premier League rating across 38 league appearances points to a season in which he remained the defensive reference point. His 7.41 Champions League rating was even higher, which fits the picture of a centre-back who still raised his level on bigger European nights. Alisson's 6.78 league rating was more modest, but it was still enough for him to stay first choice for Brazil.

There is useful attacking output here too. Cody Gakpo scored 7 Premier League goals and added 5 assists, which gave Liverpool one of their more reliable returns in a difficult campaign.

The international picture is uneven, though. Liverpool have elite representation going into the tournament, but the omission list is almost as striking as the call-ups, and that is the clearest snapshot of their summer on the international stage.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →