Klopp got closer to Liverpool truth as Iraola sent World Cup reminder

There's a theory among many fans of Premier League clubs regarding the domestic season before a World Cup. Often, it's unspoken, sometimes it can aired in more robust terms.

But the idea that many of a top team's international stars will have more than one eye on the summer showpiece across the course of a domestic campaign is often unavoidable.

For many within the Liverpool squad during a disappointing season that saw Arne Slot's side lose 20 times across all competitions, this accusation has, alongside many others, inevitably been levelled at them.

The torrent of criticism has been tough for many within the Reds squad to push back against. A confidence-shot and often injury-hit team was unable to shake off a slump that really began on the pitch under Slot in late September.

A sequence of nine defeats in 12, which began with a 2-1 loss to Crystal Palace, left the Dutchman going back to basics around the start of December.

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While results improved, performances generally did not and by the time they were next beaten - at the end of January at Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth - a largely uninspired 13-game unbeaten run that included six draws was finally put out of its misery.

A lack of leadership, questions of mental strength and even the amount of time off given to the players was all part of the discourse in the second half of the campaign as an ugly and often cantankerous few months trudged to a limp conclusion that did at least end with Champions League qualification.

It was even suggested, as is often the case, that many within the squad had long since trained their gaze towards the World Cup with their respective nations.

And while it is easy for those of a Liverpool persuasion to be critical, it would also be understandable if many within what was Slot's squad had started to subconsciously factor the World Cup into their thinking when it came to putting their bodies on the line at Anfield.

It was something Alisson Becker vocalised recently, tellingly admitting: "I’m 100%. Missing games for Liverpool was part of the plan to make sure I was ready for the World Cup.

“I am my biggest critic. No-one will criticise me more than I do. But my criticism is based on day-to-day facts, technical and psychological reading. No one knows me better than I do.“Everyone knows I spent a period out before the World Cup, but also very much because of arriving at the World Cup 100%."

Alisson missed most of the last two months of the season due to a muscle injury and it should come as no surprise to learn that the biggest competition on the planet was part of the thinking for Brazil's No.1 when it came to the final weeks of the term on Merseyside.

Alexander Isak is another who was taking no risks given his four-month lay-off with a broken leg. As has been well-documented, it was a campaign blighted by fitness and injury issues for the £125m striker after his acrimonious move from Newcastle United and by the end, Isak was sitting it out and airing on the side of caution.

He played less than 25 minutes of the final four games forr the Reds and it was no shock to see him tearing out of the blocks for Sweden earlier this week with an impressive goal, two assists and the player of the match award in a 5-1 win over Tunisia. That followed a stunning effort in a warm-up defeat to Norway before the tournament.

Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister are two more whose performances came under the microscope last time out but both looked refreshed and reinvigorated for the Netherlands and Argentina, respectively, in their opening matches. Virgil van Dijk, meanwhile, was player of the match in Oranje's 2-2 draw with Japan.

Mac Allister, specifically, found himself in the eye of the storm when it came to the critiquing of his performances last term but he remains an integral cog for world champions Argentina and a poor campaign for Liverpool might be easier to get over when rubbing shoulders with Lionel Messi and Co. A 3-0 win, courtesy of a Messi hat-trick, was the perfect way to start their defence overnight on Wednesday.

Florian Wirtz might have only faced unfancied debutants Curacao, but the Germany star strutted around the pitch in Houston, Texas as they won 7-1 on Sunday evening.

Wirtz claimed a classy assist for Felix Nmecha to break the deadlock early on, and despite a difficult first year at Anfield, great things are still demanded of the £116m playmaker Stateside.

If some Reds followers might offer up a rueful nod at the sudden return to form of so many who had been below par for so long under Slot, it does at least bode well for what is now undoubtedly a new era under new head coach Iraola.

It's certain that no-one within the Liverpool squad had actively downed tools but the cloud of negativity that hung pretty much all season during a pitiful defence as Premier League champions was simply too big to escape.

"Confidence is like a little flower," Jurgen Klopp once remarked. "And when someone stamps on it, it is really difficult [to regain]."

It's entirely fair to broad surmise that happened under Slot.

The early going of the World Cup has at least started to redress the balance for the Reds' contingent at the tournament. It's been a strong showing so far - these elite players have not forgotten who they are just yet.

And the hope is that when they return to Anfield, they do so at a more buoyant club, one that has cast aside the troubles of last season, ready to enter a brand new period under Iraola full of confidence and energy.

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