Arne Slot already has five Liverpool dilemmas to sort out as trouble looms at Euro 2024

It has been a disappointing start to the summer for Liverpool’s internationals who are currently taking part in Euro 2024.

Ten members of Arne Slot’s legacy team are currently competing in Germany, although few will be entirely satisfied with their first week at the tournament.

Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to face increasing criticism and scrutiny after being withdrawn at the start of both of England’s games as he struggled to a 1-0 win over Serbia before draw 1-1 with Denmark. Starting both games in midfield, the debate over his use continues to grow with each pundit who opines, to the extent that it would be no surprise if the Reds defender is benched against Slovenia. His long-term positioning at Anfield will be one of the first challenges Slot will tackle.

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Andy Robertson and Dominik Szoboszlai, who also faced criticism as Scotland and Hungary battle it out away in Group A. The Tartan Army were beaten 5-1 by hosts Germany in their opening match before drawing 1-1 with Switzerland, while the Hungarians suffered. back-to-back 3-1 and 2-0 defeats to the Germans and Swiss.

With both players captaining their nations, the pressure on their shoulders is inevitably even greater and has seen them singled out for criticism from the likes of Roy Keane and Andros Townsend.

Szoboszlai at least assisted Hungary’s only goal as the pair go head-to-head on Sunday as they look to qualify for the knockout stages as one of the best third-placed sides.

At least one of the pair suffers a group stage exit, with Slot having to help the Hungarian rediscover his best form this summer.

Meanwhile, Joe Gomez, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch and Vitezslav Jaros have all remained unused substitutes so far, although the Frenchman scored in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Paderborn’s Under-21s this week.

Virgil van Dijk at least went one better, captaining the Netherlands to a 2-1 win over Poland in the Dutch’s opener before helping them keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw with France in while Diogo Jota had a goal disallowed at the entrance. returned from injury as a 63rd-minute substitute in Portugal’s 2–1 win over the Czech Republic.

Cody Gakpo had Liverpool’s best tournament to date, scoring an equalizer in the aforementioned win over Holland. The highest rated player in the opening round of matches, acc Who scoredthe forward was by far the best player on the pitch when brought on down the left by Ronald Koeman and again caught the eye against the French even if he failed to trouble the scoresheet.

However, this has in turn caused debate about what his position should be when he returns to the Reds. Although a left-handed striker for PSV Eindhoven, he has predominantly played in the middle since joining Liverpool with mixed results. If he continues to impress on the flanks during the tournament, he will surely stake his claim for a change under his new head coach.

Perhaps it should come as no surprise that most of the Reds didn’t storm the Euros in its opening week, given Liverpool’s subpar finish to the campaign as their title challenge fell apart and they exited both the Europa League , as well as the premature FA Cup. .

Robertson and Jota have been plagued by injuries throughout the campaign, for example, while Szoboszlai has been woefully out of form since first picking up a hamstring injury earlier in the year. Instead, Gakpo has been one of the Reds’ best performers as their 2023/24 campaign draws to a close.

Slot is yet to speak to most of his internationals after taking charge at Anfield, with them set to miss part of pre-season due to their continental exploits, but he will be watching from afar, hoping they enjoy positive summers .

“I’ve been in touch with a few of them…” he revealed in his first interview with the club. “I think it’s normal to start with the captain, which is Virgil, which is an easy one for me because we could speak Dutch! And from there I called others.

“But not many of them because most of them are preparing, or currently playing, at the Euros and others are preparing for the Copa America. So I think the best way is to keep some distance but also be interested in them.

“And hoping that most of them – especially the Dutch! – they will continue to be away for as long as possible so that they will reach the final. Then after that I’ll meet them and I think it’s a better way to get to know each other than over the phone or Zoom meetings.”

While an early international exit would result in an earlier date for the pre-season report, with Liverpool’s players traditionally given a three-week holiday, the impact of returning from a successful tournament cannot be overlooked.

As a result, Slot will not only be hoping that the fortunes of his European players rise, but will also be hoping that Alexis Mac Allister’s start in the Copa America is a sign of things to come for his South American stars.

Starting in the United States on Thursday, the midfielder claimed a pass, claiming for Julian Alvarez, as Argentina opened the tournament with a 2-0 win over Canada. While he took a heavy hit from Maxime Crepeau in the process, at least he recovered to finish the match.

The Argentine was one of Liverpool’s players of the season in his first year at Anfield, even if he endured a sluggish end to the campaign as the Reds struggled overall. But with the Premier League season now over a month away, he appears to have made a good start to the Copa America.

Curiously, he started as a left midfielder in a 4-4-2 formation. It is a position he has held occasionally for his country, although he traditionally plays his favored central role. Consequently, unlike Alexander-Arnold and Gakpo, Slot won’t have a positional dilemma to deal with when the 25-year-old turns up for pre-season.

Uruguay’s tour kicks off against Panama on Sunday, and Darwin Nunez will lead the way.

The striker endured a poor end to the season for Liverpool, losing his starting place, with his only goal in his last 13 appearances of the campaign coming from behind when tracking the keeper. However, he has already ended such a drought by scoring a hat-trick in a friendly warm-up win against Mexico.

It would be in the Reds’ interest for the forward to enjoy a positive tournament and rediscover a prolific touch in front of goal, and then at Slot to parlay it into more consistent displays with his club side.

Meanwhile, Luis Diaz and Alisson Becker will be in action on Monday when Colombia and Brazil’s respective campaigns begin against Paraguay and Costa Rica. Both have been linked with moves away from Anfield this summer, although the Brazilian has shown no indication that he is interested in leaving the club.

Instead, while Diaz has insisted he is happy at Liverpool, he continues to be linked with a move to Barcelona. Entering the tournament in fine form after registering a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over Bolivia, his future is unlikely to be settled in any way as long as Colombia compete in the Copa America .

While his extended participation in the tournament will delay when he can hold talks with Slot and confirm his future plans, a strong display in the competition would not hurt the Reds’ asking price should he move on.

With both the Euro 2024 final and the Copa America final taking place on July 14, Liverpool could find themselves without a number of internationals until after the Reds begin their pre-season tour of the United States.

Therefore, unable to work with them until the pre-season, all Slot can do is wait, continuing to wish them positive tournaments without injuries from a distance, before he can address a number of dilemmas – be it about position, form or player related to the future – which he will have to resolve.