Arsenal defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has been speaking at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where he mentioned Liverpool maestro Thiago Alcantara.
The £16m Japan international was asked who his favourite player in Spain’s World Cup squad is, but he was shocked to learn that the Liverpool No.6 has not been called up by Luis Enrique.
TOMIYASU CANNOT BELIEVE THIAGO IS NOT AT WORLD CUP
Well, Enrique surprisingly left the 31-year-old in Merseyside when naming his 26-man World Cup squad, despite the fact the Liverpool playmaker is arguably one of the best in Europe.
After being told by Spanish news outlet AS that Thiago is not in Qatar, Tomiyasu said: “He’s not coming?! Sorry, I didn’t know that!”
Japan are set to take on Spain in the final match of Group E on Thursday 1st December, and on the basis of his comments, Tomiyasu will be relieved to not be facing the Liverpool midfielder.
Throughout his career, Thiago has won 46 caps for Spain, so his exclusion from the World Cup squad really was quite strange, especially as he has played well for Liverpool this season.
THIAGO WORLD CUP ABSENCE IS A BOOST FOR LIVERPOOL
From a personal viewpoint, Thiago must be devastated about missing out on Enrique’s squad, given the fact he has only ever made two appearances at a World Cup, and will be 35 when the next tournament comes around.
However, Jürgen Klopp will surely be secretly delighted, as it means his midfield orchestrator can have a proper rest after what has been an injury-hit campaign so far.
Thiago has missed six Premier League games so far this term, and given Liverpool’s lack of midfield depth, his absence usually hits the Reds hard.
Therefore, Klopp will surely be pleased that his No.6 did not travel to Qatar, even if it does mean the German now has to pick the Spaniard’s head up and brighten his mood.
