Five Liverpool Players Called up by England

Somewhat lost in the hubbub of young Ben Woodburn getting called up to Chris Coleman's Wales squad ahead of the Wales' World Cup qualifier against Ireland was that Gareth Southgate — whose unbelievably predictable appointment as England manager had already been completely forgotten by this writer — had picked his first England squad. With Jordan Henderson and Daniel Sturridge injured, and James Milner having retired from international football in August, only Adam Lallana and Nathaniel Clyne remain as realistic Red options for Southgate, and the two have indeed been selected to face Germany and Lithuania next week.

International weeks are are usually approached by club fans with equal amounts apathy and trepidation, and given how crucial Clyne and Lallana are to the Reds and how close the battle for top four looks to become, Liverpool supporters are likely to retain that mindset going into the break. With Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino called up by Brazil coach Tite, Georginio Wijnaldum joining Holland, and Divock Origi traveling with Belgium for games the same weekend, there will be plenty of hand-wringing to go with the run-of-the-mill international week ennui.

In other international news, three young Reds have also been called up to their respective international sides. Joe Gomez will join Aidy Boothroyd's Under-21s for their friendly matches against Germany and Denmark, Trent Alexander-Arnold is set to feature for the Under-19s in their European Championship qualifiers against Norway, Spain and Belarus, and 16-year old Rhian Brewster will look to continue his scoring streak at the Under-17 level, as England take on the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The matches are played between March 22nd and March 29th.