As neither Mohamed Salah nor Wataru Endo made the cut for Egypt or Japan respectively, new Liverpool men's boss Arne Slot is totally unaffected by Paris 2024 Olympic call-ups for his first pre-season.
Such news is music to the ears of the ex-Feyenoord manager, who already has several players on extended breaks from the Euros and Copa America, but a few women's representatives will be gunning for gold in the French capital.
Unlike the men's tournament, where managers can only pick three players over the age of 23, the women's competition is not governed by the same rules, allowing coaches to call up Ballon d'Or Feminin winners and 100-cap internationals at their leisure.
Matt Beard's Liverpool Women's side do not kick off the new Women's Super League season until September, giving Olympic stars ample time to recover from their exploits, and here, Sports Mole looks at every Reds player competing for their nations in Paris.
Australia Women - Teagan Micah
© Imago
A well-travelled goalkeeper, Teagan Micah joined Liverpool's ranks last year following a stint in Scandinavia, playing in both the Norwegian and Swedish top flight after representing a handful of teams in Australia.
Micah's final season with Rosengard in Sweden was hampered by a severe concussion, which she took months to recover from, and she only played on 10 occasions for Liverpool in 2023-24, including a 1-0 win over Manchester United.
A 17-cap Australia international, Micah was the Matildas' starting goalkeeper at the 2021 Olympics, where her nation agonisingly missed out on a bronze medal to the USA, and she did not play a single minute at the 2023 World Cup.
The more experienced Mackenzie Arnold assumed number one duties instead, and the 30-year-old is expected to keep her spot in between the posts in Paris, forcing Micah to accept a backup role again.
Japan Women - Fuka Nagano
© Imago
The second and final Liverpool representative taking part in this year's Olympics, Japan midfielder Fuka Nagano was a near ever-present in the Reds midfield last season, playing in 21 of their 22 WSL matches in her first full season.
The 25-year-old had to wait longer than expected for her Liverpool debut, as a clash versus Chelsea in January 2023 - where she was expected to earn her Reds baptism - was abandoned after just six minutes due to an unplayable pitch.
However, Nagano was a cornerstone of Beard's engine room in 2023-24, albeit while failing to directly contribute to a goal in the WSL, while she also started four of Japan's five matches during their run to the 2023 World Cup quarter-finals.
Prior to her feats Down Under, Nagano became a world champion with Japan at Under-17 level in 2014 and Under-20 level in 2018 and now seeks to propel her nation past one or both of Brazil and Spain into the Olympic knockouts.
Ben Knapton
