World Cup exits rarely feel like good news for Liverpool players, but Andoni Iraola will know exactly what this one gives him: time.
According to This Is Anfield, the eliminations of Germany and the Netherlands mean Florian Wirtz, Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch and Virgil van Dijk are now in line to return before Liverpool’s USA tour.
That matters because this is not a normal summer at Anfield. It is the first real construction phase of Iraola’s Liverpool.
The Basque coach has already framed the squad as a group he needs to learn again, with his early ‘all new signings’ message making pre-season sound less like fitness work and more like a tactical reset.
Getting four senior players back before the tour does not solve every problem. It does, however, change the quality of the classroom.
Why The Timing Is Bigger Than The Names
Liverpool’s tour begins against Sunderland at Geodis Park on July 25, before fixtures with Wrexham at Yankee Stadium on July 29 and Leeds United at Soldier Field on August 2, as confirmed by LiverpoolFC.com. That schedule gives Iraola three increasingly useful rehearsal blocks before the competitive calendar sharpens.
Van Dijk’s presence is the anchor. A new head coach can explain pressing triggers on a training pitch, but the back line lives or dies by the centre-back who sets the height, controls the spacing and decides when Liverpool squeeze. Iraola’s Bournemouth side were aggressive without the ball. At Liverpool, that aggression needs Van Dijk’s timing to stop it becoming reckless.
Gravenberch is almost as important. If Iraola wants Liverpool to jump higher and compress central areas faster, the Dutch midfielder gives him the stride length, receiving security and recovery power to make those distances playable. Pre-season minutes beside Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai or whoever forms the final midfield picture will be worth more than another week of individual conditioning.
Wirtz Gets The Integration Window Liverpool Needed
Wirtz is the most intriguing return because his role should shape the whole attack. Liverpool have already been searching for sharper links between midfield and the front line, and his arrival back before the USA matches gives Iraola a live chance to decide whether he is a central connector, an inside-left creator or a hybrid piece who moves according to the press.
That distinction is not cosmetic. In a 4-3-3, Wirtz’s starting point affects the full-back lanes, Gakpo’s route inside and the pressure placed on the No.6. In a 4-2-3-1, he becomes the player opponents build their defensive midfield around. Iraola needs match evidence, not just training footage, to settle that choice.
Gakpo’s return adds a different kind of value. After another World Cup spell that has kept his name prominent, he remains one of the squad’s most useful tactical swing pieces.
He can play as a left-sided forward, a central runner or a possession outlet when Liverpool need to slow chaotic phases. That flexibility is especially useful while the club continues to assess wide-forward options and internal competition.
The USA Tour Now Carries Real Selection Weight
This is where the story becomes bigger than availability. Iraola will not want his first tour to become a ceremonial launch. He needs evidence – which senior players can absorb his pressing detail quickly, which combinations protect Liverpool in transition, and which attackers give the team enough vertical threat without surrendering control.
The recent Federico Chiesa pre-season debate underlined how many decisions are still open around the forward line. Gakpo and Wirtz returning early increases the pressure on every attacking audition because Iraola can now compare fringe claims against elite reference points rather than incomplete training groups.
For Liverpool, the World Cup fallout has delivered a narrow but valuable advantage. Four major players should be back in time to make the USA tour more than a commercial exercise. For Iraola, it is the first chance to turn theory into hierarchy.
