Four Liverpool players set to miss World Cup as forgotten stars can make pre-season XI

Below is a summary of the full article. Click here for the full version from Echo or go back to LFC Live.

SportFootballLiverpool FCLiverpool stand to benefit from four players missing this summer's World CupThe list of Liverpool stars not heading to World Cup 2026 grew by one on Tuesday as Federico Chiesa's Italy failed to qualify. He joins a small batch of Anfield talents who will now be expected to play a greater role for their club in pre-season.The Azzurri will not be heading to the World Cup finals for the third tournament in a row following their shootout loss to Bosnia & Herzegovina.

Chiesa wasn't part of the lineup that missed out in Zenica and hasn't played for his country since Euro 2024, but there's an outside chance he could have returned to the fold this summer.He's hardly the only Liverpool player who will be watching from afar, however. However, he's managed just five starts, and only one of those has come in the league.As aforementioned, Chiesa was never guaranteed to feature at the World Cup even if Italy had ended their hiatus and qualified.

In that sense, a promising pre-season could boost the stopper's prospects of breaking through the glass ceiling next term.England's 2026 World Cup kitsThis article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Their first game against the Black Cats will take place in Nashville on July 25.That's a little less than one week after World Cup 2026 is scheduled to conclude in New Jersey on July 19.