This World Cup Suiting Liverpool Down to the Ground

(Aside from the off-pitch dramas!)

(Presumably what Mo Salah has been up to again recently.)

It's been a time of disruption behind the scenes at Liverpool, but so far, a time of rest and recuperation for the vast majority Liverpool's outfield players; including most of the six who went to Qatar (Alisson is yet to break into a sweat as a goalkeeper, and one of only two nailed-on outfield starters is heading home).

Most top teams are likely to have several of their best players at the World Cup.

However, the World Cup is not a total proxy for quality, given that excellent players can be stuck in poor national teams (Erling Haaland), or play in difficult qualifying groups (Mo Salah): higher ranked teams, like Italy, are not at the World Cup, whereas Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Canada and Ecuador are.

And indeed, you could be an excellent player who has four excellent players in the same position ahead of you in the pecking order, albeit I'm not sure any are better in Trent Alexander-Arnold's case (albeit on this season's form, it's harder to argue that point).

It can also show the different tactical needs between club and country – England prefer a solid right-back, whereas Liverpool, until this season, had a right-back who seemed to push forward 90% of the time.

Barring training injuries, Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson and Fabinho are unlikely to be overworked, while Darwin Núñez is on his way home. Other clubs' players are being run into the ground.

As such, the World Cup is working out brilliantly for Liverpool, and could prove punishing for Big Six rivals – as the data I've been collating below shows.