Luis Diaz scores late equaliser as 5 Liverpool players feature in internationals

Luis Diaz continued his run of goalscoring form as he netted for Colombia on a night when four other Liverpool players were involved in senior international action.

For five of Liverpool’s players, it was a busy Friday of international duty that included a home competitive debut for Welshman Lewis Koumas under former Liverpool player Craig Bellamy.

 

Luis Diaz (Colombia)

As is so often the case, Diaz stepped up when Colombia needed him most.

The Liverpool No. 7 started the Game but Colombia found themselves 1-0 down after 62 minutes when Peru’s Alexander Callens clinically diverted a cross.

With James Rodriguez and Yerry Mina both now on the pitch, Colombia pushed for the equaliser and found it in the 82nd minute.

The goal came thanks to a James outswinging corner that another substitute, Jhon Duran, flicked on to the back post, where Diaz waited to prod in from close range.

While Colombia are third and expected to qualify comfortably for the 2026 World Cup, the point still meant a lot for Diaz who is fast becoming an icon in his country.

Peru 1-1 Colombia

 

Ibrahima Konate (France)

Having sat on the bench for each of France’s six Games at Euro 2024, Konate was given a chance to make his mark against Italy on Friday night.

Unfortunately, though, by some accounts he didn’t grasp the chance.

With Dayot Upamecano unavailable, Konate started alongside William Saliba and the pair failed to gel.

The French press were critical of the defensive pair after their 3-1 defeat, with Le Parisien saying: “The Liverpool defender produced a truly insufficient display.

“We felt he was hesitant in his placements, not always sure of himself, like his defence on [Davide] Frattesi’s goal where his marking was much too loose.”

This doesn’t reflect his last couple of performances for Liverpool so hopefully it was just a blip!

France 1-3 Italy

 

Alisson (Brazil)

Alisson enjoyed a successful night for Brazil, who moved three points behind Colombia in South American World Cup qualifying.

The goalkeeper started for the Selecao in Curitiba and kept a clean sheet as they won 1-0 against Ecuador, with Real Madrid‘s Rodrygo netting the winner 30 minutes in after being set up by Lucas Paqueta.

Overall, Alisson had a comfortable outing and had a good night with the ball at his feet, playing four out of five long balls accurately and completing 21 of his 23 passes.

Brazil 1-0 Ecuador

 

Mo Salah (Egypt)

Mo Salah captained Egypt to an impressive 3-0 win against Cape Verde and, though he didn’t score or set up any teammates directly, was his usual busy self as the team’s talisman.

In this, the Pharoahs’ first match of Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, they came up against Cape Verde who reached the quarter-finals of last year’s AFCON before being knocked out on penalties by South Africa.

Rami Rabia, Omar Marmoush and Ibrahim Adel were the scorers as Egypt romped to victory in this encounter. Salah played the full 90 minutes.

Egypt 3-0 Cape Verde

 

Lewis Koumas (Wales)

On the back of some great form for Stoke, Liverpool’s young attacking loanee Koumas made his competitive home debut for Wales.

In what was ex-Red Bellamy’s first match as manager, the coach brought Koumas on with 20 minutes left to try and find a winner against Turkiye.

That winner never came but it was a good experience for the 18-year-old who only made his international debut in June.

Fellow Liverpool loanee Owen Beck, who is at Blackburn this season, was made to wait for his debut as he remained on the bench.

Wales’ next match is on Monday away to Montenegro in the Nations League.

Wales 0-0 Turkiye