'Important' Liverpool player now set to miss international game tonight - journalist

03/21/2025 05:00 AM

Liverpool players are away on international duty as they look to put a difficult week behind them.

The Reds should hopefully be in for a big old celebration the other side of the current break, but March was certainly tough.

Given how tired many of the Liverpool squad looked during defeats against PSG and Newcastle, it would perhaps have been nice to see less of the group travel away with their countries.

Nevertheless, a change is as good as a rest at times and hopefully the time away will allow Liverpool players to regain some focus and perspective.

It’s also true that although they may travel, some of the Reds on duty will not play.

And as Thomas Tuchel gears up to pick his first ever England team on Friday night, it’s now clear that one Liverpool player is not going to be in it.

Jarell Quansah left out of England squad

Liverpool’s representation in the England squad has been dwindling over the past handful of years.

However, they did still have two players called up to Tuchel’s first ever group, with Curtis Jones and Jarell Quansah named.

Quansah’s inclusion earned a backlash from England fans who were not happy at the Liverpool youngster being called up ahead of some of their favourites.

But according to journalist Mike McGrath, Tuchel has now chosen to leave Quansah out of his travelling party for Friday night’s game.

READ MORE: Why Brazil substituted Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker off during win over Colombia

“Morgan Gibbs-White, Jarell Quansah and Aaron Ramsdale left out of Thomas Tuchel’s first matchday squad,” McGrath reports on X.

“He can pick 23 players to the World Cup qualifier against Albania.”

Arne Slot unlikely to be impressed

Quansah was perhaps always likely to be one of the names not included in the travelling squad for Tuchel.

The 22-year-old was also called up to last summer’s pre-Euro 2024 friendlies and did not make his debut there either.

It does beg the question of why Tuchel chose to take the Liverpool academy graduate in the first place, and with Quansah set to take on a bigger role for the Reds with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Conor Bradley injured, Arne Slot is unlikely to be impressed.

Slot called Quansah ‘important‘ after Liverpool’s recent win over Wolves and the defender has regrouped after a difficult start to the campaign.

With the England man expected to be the Reds’ starting right-back upon their return to action in April, Slot will be happy to see no risks taken on the one hand, but on the other, Quansah would be better off taking a break ahead of a key period in the season.