Liverpool's unwanted 40-year streak ending proves how bad this season has been

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Liverpool has put on one of the worst Premier League title defenses in history in 2025-26, trailing leaders Arsenal by 23 points heading into the final weekend, and it's had a profound effectEngland internationals Joe Gomez (L) and Curtis Jones (R) have both missed out on a place in Thomas Tuchel's World Cup squad this summerFor the first time since the 1986 World Cup, Liverpool will have no players representing England at a major tournament when the Three Lions travel to North America this summer.Thomas Tuchel announced his 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico on Friday, and not a single Red was present, while even the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold missed out.Granted, Liverpool head coach Arne Slot only boasts two England senior internationals in his first-team squad, defender Joe Gomez and midfielder Curtis Jones, but even then, they didn't do enough this season to warrant a place on the plane across the Atlantic.READ MORE: Every word Arne Slot said on Mo Salah statement, Alisson and Isak injury latest and summer plansREAD MORE: Liverpool transfer news and rumors today LIVE: Samuel Martinez deal, Slot future, Alisson boostJones, 25, has actually been a regular fixture for Liverpool this season, making 48 appearances across all competitions, albeit just 21 of those have come as starts, providing two goals and three assists.The Liverpudlian has six England caps to his name, though the last came almost a year ago, when he featured in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal in June 2025.As for Gomez, 28, he has featured 32 times for Liverpool this season, though just half of those have been starts, having failed to dislodge any of the regular back four from their starting positions for much of the campaign.Jones, 25, has struggled to put together a consistent run of starts for Liverpool this season(Image: Getty Images)His international career ended in 2024, having failed to make an England squad since being called up for that summer's European Championships, where he didn't even make it onto the pitch.The only other Englishman in with a chance of making this summer's World Cup squad was young forward Rio Ngumoha, having shown flashes of his potential throughout the campaign.The 17-year-old has been used sparingly by Slot this season, though he still has 28 appearances to his name, 20 of which have been starts, and has two goals and one assist in that time.While Ngumoha hasn't been called up to England's final 26-man squad, Tuchel has invited him to train with the team at its pre-World Cup camp in Florida.Gomez, 28, has also struggled for regular game time under Arne Slot this season(Image: News Images/NurPhoto)Regardless, Liverpool must accept that it will have no players representing England at a major tournament for the first time in 40 years.Perhaps it could be argued that Jones and Gomez were never going to be starters for the Three Lions, but given a consistent run of starts in the Premier League, they would have had as good a chance as any of making up part of the squad.What this stat perhaps also shows is that Liverpool has become more dependent on recruiting and playing foreign players than on local talent. As many have pointed out, the Reds frequently have starting XI's without a single English player, so this unwanted record isn't surprising.