Alexis Mac Allister faces question three other Liverpool players must also answer

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Alexis Mac Allister is one of several players to have improved during the World Cup compared to the final weeks of their previous season with LiverpoolThe sight of Alexis Mac Allister helping drag Argentina from the brink of miserable defeat against England to a World Cup final showdown with Spain on Sunday prompted the same question from watching Liverpool supporters.Where has this player been for much of the last 12 months?While there were the occasional glimpses of Mac Allister operating at his tigerish best - the Champions League win over Real Madrid and his injury-time interventions at Nottingham Forest the standouts - they were few and far between during an attritional campaign for both team and player.Too often, the 27-year-old appeared off the pace and was guilty of allowing games to pass him by for large periods in the engine room, and often failed to provide sufficient defensive cover for a creaking rearguard.True, there were fitness issues during the second quarter of 2025, but that didn't prevent Mac Allister being an almost ever-present last season. No player appeared in more matches for Liverpool, and perhaps fatigue played its part.However, that hasn't stopped the midfielder making a huge impact for Argentina at the World Cup, where he has played every minute in six out of Argentina's seven games while making a cameo from the bench in the dead group stage rubber against Jordan.The slower pace of the game and being surrounded by a settled group of players and without quite the same defensive responsibilities as at Liverpool under Arne Slot have benefited Mac Allister.Nevertheless, the disparity in level of performance will no doubt raises questions over whether Mac Allister - already a World Cup winner with Argentina four years ago - was possibly holding a little back for the tournament with Liverpool having nothing but Champions League qualification to play for during the closing weeks.And he isn't the only player to whom this applies.Alisson Becker, of course, was in a somewhat different position, having missed much of the latter stages of the campaign with a hamstring problem before returning for the season finale at home to Brentford.FOLLOW OUR LIVERPOOL FC FACEBOOK PAGE!

All the latest news and analysis from Anfield on the Liverpool Echo's dedicated LFC Facebook pageBut the goalkeeper raised eyebrows with his admission ahead of the tournament: "I’m 100% and being out of games at Liverpool was to prepare me for the World Cup."Then there is Alexander Isak, whose injury and fitness concerns hampered his season. He made just one brief substitute appearance in the final month of the campaign and was an unused substitute on the final day.Intriguing, then, that Isak, having scored for Sweden as a substitute in a friendly defeat to Norway and then started against Greece a few days later, went on to play all bar a handful of minutes in his country's four World Cup games, scoring once and providing three assists.To a lesser degree, Florian Wirtz, struggling with a stomach complaint, also had minimal contribution over the last few weeks, missing the home draw with Chelsea and then a late substitute in the final two games.

He registered just one goal and two assists for Liverpool since the end of January.And while nowhere near his best and part of a dysfunctional Germany team, he still managed four goal contributions in six games for his country post-season, including three assists at the World Cup.Mac Allister's run to the final means he won't link up with Liverpool until next month, with ongoing speculation of interest from Real Madrid adding a further level of interest to his performances.The early elimination of the other three, though, means they will be expected to link up with new coach Andoni Iraola's squad at some point during their forthcoming US tour.They can then begin to silence any whispers prompted by the World Cup - and build on their upturn in fortunes of recent weeks.