23 Mar 2026 21:26:26
So for a bit of fun with the international break upon us and it being a World Cup year I was having a pint with my neighbour and we were trying to name the best Liverpool team we could think of, of British players who have played a game at the World Cup finals!
So criteria must be to of played minutes in a World Cup final game and be British or Irish.
My team:
James
Trent - Hanson - Thompson - Nichol
Beardsley - Souness - Gerrard - Barnes
Owen - Kenny
Subs - Hunt, Aldridge, McMahon, McManoman, Wheelan
Be interesting to hear other picks.
23 Mar 2026 21:55:17
Didn't Bale play in a World Cup? He gets in ahead of any of them, including Barnes. Prime Bale was insane, and if it wasn't for Messi and Ronaldo at the time, he'd be more rated than he is.
23 Mar 2026 21:57:52
Phil Neal over Trent all day and twice on a Saturday.
{Ed025's Note - as a full back light years ahead John..
23 Mar 2026 22:03:27
Agree with that, Scouse. Roger Hunt also has to be in there. He's a World Cup winner.
23 Mar 2026 22:05:47
Queen, when did Bale play for Liverpool?
23 Mar 2026 22:14:31
Ray Clemence?
23 Mar 2026 22:22:58
Clem a million times over James.
23 Mar 2026 22:27:31
Keegan over Owen, all day long for me.
Keegan and Dalglish up front. ?
23 Mar 2026 22:27:36
Clemence didn't play in a World Cup, gents.
23 Mar 2026 22:53:20
Clemence & Neal didn't play a World Cup game.
23 Mar 2026 22:54:24
Fowler played in the 2002 World Cup. Him in. Judas out.
23 Mar 2026 22:55:05
Tight call on Keegan tbf, Ron, but he only had a minute v Spain in 82.
23 Mar 2026 22:59:08
Neal played in 1982 WC, Bristol.
23 Mar 2026 23:06:43
Can we make an exception for Clem?
23 Mar 2026 23:08:26
Sorry, Rome, my mistake!!
Neal in for Trent & Owens failed a fitness test & Hunt comes in!!
24 Mar 2026 00:05:50
John Wark did he play for Scotland in World Cup?
24 Mar 2026 01:25:13
Houghton, Staunton, Mark Wright on the bench? Definitely in the squad. ?
24 Mar 2026 02:57:00
Prime Bale over Prime Barnes is a brave one. :)
24 Mar 2026 03:53:06
Bale never played for Liverpool.
24 Mar 2026 05:14:16
Indeed, West, read wrong, quickstepped to the criteria. Thumbs up.
24 Mar 2026 05:15:01
Also only replying to a comment above. :)
24 Mar 2026 05:23:16
Sorry didn't read the bit about the World Cup... just shows you some greats never had the chance.
24 Mar 2026 05:21:05
No Ian Rush? Hard to beat our record goal scorer at a striker. Only scored 4 against Everton though (eh Ed025)
{Ed025's Note - i was a massive fan of Rushie Elspriggso, first player i can remember starting the press from the front mate..
24 Mar 2026 08:23:25
Bale over Barnes? Has the world actually gone mad?
24 Mar 2026 08:50:41
Even if Bale did play for Liverpool, it's no contest with Barnes - a genius and virtually unplayable, even towards the end of his career.
I'd go with the OPs selections, other than Robbo in for Nicol, and did Rob Jones play at a WC? If not, then Neal...
Oh, and Rush or Fowler instead of Owen.
24 Mar 2026 09:42:09
I don't really know who played at World Cups, and I can't be bothered to check each player if I'm dead honest. My British Liverpool XI would be:
Clemence
Neal, Smith, Hansen, Kennedy
Liddell, Gerrard, Souness, Barnes
Dalglish, Rush
To be honest, other than Salah in for Liddell, that's probably just my all time Liverpool XI in general.
24 Mar 2026 10:27:37
Not sure anyone on here actually had the chance to see Liddell play apart from Rome, maybe?
24 Mar 2026 10:34:25
Before my time, Bristol. Born in 1962. There have been posters who remember him, but not sure if they're about.
24 Mar 2026 11:22:00
Bristol, I spoke to my wife's Grandad about Billy Liddell before he passed away, and he told me Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney were the only better players he'd seen play. I've read a lot about Liddell as well and his affinity for the City of Liverpool (not just the club) is bordering on unrivalled. He could easily have moved to a Division 1 team when Liverpool were relegated, but he stayed for his entire career purely for the love of it.
Proper legend.
Also, if I picked a British team from just players I've actually seen play for Liverpool, then my team would be pretty relatively average.
Kirkland
Trent, Gomez, Carragher, Robertson
Milner, Gerrard, Henderson, Sterling
Sturridge, Crouch
So I'm heavily reliant on what I've heard about our legends from others!
24 Mar 2026 11:30:28
Rush never played in a World Cup, not even close - otherwise he'd be one of the first names.
24 Mar 2026 14:29:07
What about Ian Callaghan World Cup 66?
24 Mar 2026 14:43:13
Nice reply, MK. ?
24 Mar 2026 16:23:41
Cheers Bristol. Both my own grandfathers were not really interested in football, so I had very few stories from them. My Dad's only just into his early 60s and was also a glory hunter (supported Leeds or Liverpool depending on who was winning then lost interest in football in the early 90s when they both stopped winning). So although I'll occasionally get stories from him about Ian Rush or Billy Bremner, anything before the 70s was a mystery to me until I got chatting to my wife's grandad.
He was an avid follower of Lincoln City, so when Liverpool were relegated to Division 2 he saw Billy Liddell play quite a few times in the flesh. He did stand by it that Stanley Matthews and Tom Finney were better though! One day these legends of the game will be lost from living memory and that is such an inevitable shame.