Ibrahima Konate next? Liverpool’s 5 World Cup-winning players
The likes of Jordan Henderson, Allison and Virgil van Dijk have left Qatar empty-handed, but one of Liverpool’s players may return as a World Cup winner – Ibrahima Konate.
The 23-year-old centre-back was exceptional for France as they defeated Morocco in the semi-final and he’ll be hoping to retain his place as Les Bleus take on Argentina in the final.
Since the World Cup’s inception in 1930, a total of five players have won the tournament while representing for the Reds.
We’ve scrolled through the archives to find Liverpool’s five World Cup-winning players. As a point to note, we’ve not included the likes of Xabi Alonso and Alvaro Arbeloa, who represented Liverpool and won the World Cup, but not at the same time.
Roger Hunt
Roger Hunt is second to only Ian Rush when it comes to the Liverpool all-time top goalscorers list. The former Liverpool forward scored 285 goals in just 492 appearances whilst at Anfield.
He was triumphant with England in 1966 and scored three crucial goals for England in the group stages.
Roger Hunt vs France
Wednesday 20 July 1966
World Cup 1966 Group 1
England 2-0 France51 YEARS AGO TODAY! pic.twitter.com/GOJKdZHW03
— England Goals (@ThreeLionsGoals) July 20, 2017
Ian Callaghan
Liverpool legend Ian Callaghan is the club’s record appearance maker with 857 appearances between 1958 and 1978.
The midfielder won the World Cup with England in 1966. He would however have to wait 41 years for his medal, as back then only the 11 players who featured in the final received a medal.
Gerry Byrne
Gerry Byrne completes the 1966-winning Liverpool trio.
The left-back spent his entire professional career with Liverpool and received a total of two caps for England. Like Callaghan and others including the likes of Jimmy Greaves and Norman Hunter, he eventually received his 1966 winners medal at a Downing Street ceremony in 2009.
Pepe Reina
Pepe Reina was triumphant in the World Cup with Spain in 2010.
He along with Víctor Valdes played a supporting role for Spain’s number one Iker Casillas. Vicente del Bosque’s side only conceded two goals throughout the entire tournament and kept five clean sheets along the way.
Despite Reina not getting any action in the tournament, he does still have a winner’s medal to show for it.
READ: Remembering when Pepe Reina played as a midfielder for Liverpool
Fernando Torres
A fellow member of Spain’s 2010 triumph was Fernando Torres.
The Spanish striker was in fine form heading into the 2010 tournament, having scored 22 goals for the Reds throughout the 2009-10 campaign.
He had a somewhat frustrating time in South Africa, however. He failed to find the back of the net and the goalscoring onus instead fell upon David Villa’s shoulders.
Spain beat Dirk Kuyt’s Netherlands in the final thanks to Andres Iniesta’s iconic extra-time match-winner. Torres replaced Villa in the 106th minute and was on the pitch for La Roja’s deliriously joyous celebrations.
Six months later he departed Liverpool for Chelsea.
READ MORE: A tribute to Liverpool-era Fernando Torres, a striker who could do it all