Liverpool's two main players, Endo Hang and Mohamed Sana, have temporarily left the team to play in the Asian Cup and the African Cup of Nations for a period of up to one month. The Reds' team leader, Kopp, said at the pre-match press conference of the EFL Cup against Arsenal that he hoped that the two men would be out of their national team groups and would come back soon.
If I were to wish them good luck, I'd be talking a big game and hoping they go out of the group stage, but that's not going to happen," Kopp said. I hope they come back healthy and I'll find a way to replace them," he said.
Endo was selected by the Japanese national team to play in the Asian Cup. Japan is the four-time champion of the Asian Cup and the runner-up in the last edition, which is a great strength in Asia, and the opponents in the group stage of this year's tournament include Indonesia, Iraq and Vietnam.
