​Two Liverpool players are set to be involved right up until the end of the 2026 World Cup as the semi-final lineup was completed in the last 24 hours. France and Spain became the first two nations to secure their places in the last four, where they will meet in Dallas on Tuesday, with Reds summer signing Victor Munoz included in the European champions’ squad. They were joined in the semi-finals by England and Argentina, who clash in Atlanta on Wednesday, after their extra-time wins on Saturday night, with Alexis Mac Allister scoring for Argentina as they beat Switzerland.
Some Liverpool players have already fallen by the wayside in earlier rounds of the World Cup, but they are set to be exempt from the upcoming pre-season tour to the United States, since they will still be on holiday. As explained by Ian Doyle for the Liverpool Echo, the club’s policy typically allows players to take three weeks off after their involvement in a major international tournament ends in the summer. The four remaining teams will each have two more matches to play, either advancing to the final next Sunday or contending in the third-place play-off the night before, so Mac Allister and Munoz will remain in the World Cup until either July 18 or 19.
If you want more Empire of the Kop coverage, add us as a preferred source on Google to your favorites for news you can trust. Applying the general club policy of a three-week break afterward, the pair aren’t due back at the AXA Training Centre until the weekend of August 8/9, with Liverpool slated to play Monaco in a friendly at Anfield on that latter date. The midfielder and winger are unlikely to feature in that match, instead returning to training later in the week before possibly getting a runout for the home friendly against Como the following Sunday (August 16), subject to fitness.
That fixture comes just seven days before the Reds begin their Premier League campaign away at Newcastle in what will be Andoni Iraola’s first official game as head coach. Mac Allister and Munoz will be quickly drawn back into the grind of elite modern-day football for another several months. For different reasons, both players will likely feel they have plenty to prove under the new boss, regardless of whether they return after World Cup glory. The Argentine midfielder will want to remind everyone that his largely quiet form last season was not a true reflection, while the Spanish winger will be eager to hit the ground running at his new club after signing from Osasuna in June. Whatever unfolds internationally over the next week, the hope is that the pair can make a consistently impactful contribution for Liverpool in the months ahead, benefiting both the team’s prospects and broader coverage.