Liverpool could be about to get three big boosts before a huge summer for Andoni Iraola, with the World Cup offering the chance for some Reds stars to rediscover some form
04:00, 11 Jun 2026
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.
Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola.(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Andoni Iraola's primary job next season will be to get more out of a group of players who underperformed individually and collectively in the campaign just gone.
Only Dominik Szoboszlai, you could argue, maintained his level from the title-winning season. For the others, there were varying levels of decline.
Those same Liverpool stars, though, did not become bad players overnight. Injuries didn't help and the Reds' squad will need to be strengthened — that will be the job of sporting director Richard Hughes more than Iraola — but there is a clear need to get more from the same resources when the next season gets underway.
"For me, we are a lot of things as a manager, but especially we are here to help the players," Iraola said when he was unveiled as the new Liverpool head coach last week.
"We have to provide, I always say, like a collective platform so everyone can do their job properly and we can find the best roles for every player."
Indeed, there are three Liverpool players who perhaps have the greatest scope to improve and make the biggest difference. All three will hope that the World Cup can provide a springboard.
In the case of Alexander Isak, his quality has never been in doubt. The Swede basically had to write last season off, however, and his lengthy spells of absence were punctuated only by periods in which he wasn't match fit.
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz of Liverpool during the Premier League win against Crystal Palace at Anfield on April 25 2026
Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz of Liverpool during the Premier League win against Crystal Palace at Anfield on April 25 2026(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Isak looks sharper now, and that process will continue while he is with his national team, with the hope being that he can rediscover his form over the next couple of months.
If the 26-year-old does that, he will score plenty of goals next term. Given he played so little in his first 12 months, the impact he can have if he stays fit and provides the performances we know he is capable of is likely to be more impactful than any new signing.
Germany superstar Florian Wirtz settled into life at Liverpool much better than Isak did, but he is another who could do with having a strong World Cup.
If Julian Nagelsmann's side is to go far in the US, Canada and Mexico, Wirtz will be at the center of that. At 22, he is his country's talisman, as a result of the enormous talent that he has.
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Wirtz did fine in his first season at Liverpool — not least in the context of a struggling team — but there is so much more to come from him in terms of goals and assists. Iraola's style should suit him down to the ground.
Last but not least, Alexis Mac Allister began last season with an injury and never managed to get up to speed. No contract talks have been held with the Argentine, and his performances were worrying at times.
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For his country, though, the former Brighton man is likely to remain a key man. Mac Allister needed to find his physcality again anyway, but Iraola-ball arriving at Anfield will only make that even more important.
For all that there is lots of work to be done at Liverpool this summer, then, the bar is low for a few players who could make a big difference. If Isak, Wirtz and Mac Allister can impress for their nations, Iraola will get a triple boost before he even meets them in the flesh.