Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker has admitted that he deliberately missed games for his club in order to make it to the World Cup 2026 this summer.
The Brazil international is part of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad for the tournament, and you can follow here for live World Cup updates as the five-time winners kick off their campaign against Morocco on Saturday.
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Alisson has shone for Liverpool and could be a key player for Brazil in this summer’s tournament, but Reds fans might not be cheering him on too much after hearing that he intentionally sat out games for his club in order to prioritise this World Cup.
Alisson on missing Liverpool games to prioritise the World Cup
Discussing his fitness, Alisson said he doesn’t have any injury problems at the moment, as he only missed Liverpool games to focus on Brazil.
“I’m 100%. Missing games for Liverpool was part of the plan to make sure I was ready for the World Cup,” he said to Estadao, as quoted and translated by Sport Witness.
It’s unclear if these quotes perhaps translate poorly, which can happen, but it certainly sounds like Alisson is admitting to missing LFC games despite not actually being injured.
The Merseyside giants had a decent backup option in Giorgi Mamardashvili, so it wasn’t the worst thing in the world for them, but it just doesn’t paint a great picture of the environment at Anfield in what ended up being such a disappointing season.
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Alisson on his World Cup aims
Alisson is only human of course, and who wouldn’t be absolutely determined to play at the World Cup, especially when it could be the final opportunity to do so?
Discussing his ambitions for the tournament, he said: “My focus is on this World Cup. I will face it as if it were the last opportunity. I have learned this in life, to live each day. My focus is on this time. It is a huge opportunity to live another World Cup.
“I feel honoured to reach this mark of goalkeepers who were in three World Cups.
“I want to enter the other group. I want to be among the World Cup champions. With the other 25 called-up players. That is my focus and the most important thing at the moment.”
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