After Mamadou Sakho's France were knocked out by Germany 1-0 in the Quarter Finals on Friday and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet's Belgium lost 1-0 to Argentinaon Saturday night, not a single Liverpool player remains at the World Cup. So with them all having flown home, how have the Reds' representatives performed?
The England contingent didn't enjoy the best of campaigns, crashing out in the Group Stage in last spot with just a single point. Despite relatively reasonable performances against Italy and Uruguay, they lost 2-1 both times, before underwhelmingly drawing 0-0 with Costa Rica in the final game.
Steven Gerrard endured one of his worst tournaments, suffering from a lack of stamina and being overexposed in the double-pivot system that Roy Hodgson had opted for. The 34-year-old won't want to go out on such a low-note, but this summer may have been his last as England captain and as a Three Lions player in general. Hopefully, the skipper will be remembered for his previous efforts for the national team rather than this tournament, in which capped off a miserable finish to the club season for the Scouser, as his header set up Luis Suárez on a plate to seal England's World Cup fate and unfairly render him this summer's scapegoat for failed tactics and poor collective exertion.
Rating - 5/10
His fellow Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson's tournament, too, was underwhelming. After a fine season for the Reds, the midfield two didn't suit him either. He was often tasked with having to cover for Gerrard's lack of legs, but even the Duracell bunny can sometimes be overrun. Unfortunately, the onus on him was too much and despite his abundance of energy, we didn't see the best of the 24-year-old. He was virtually the only man adequately protecting the back four, and his attacking endeavours were sacrificed as a result. His unspectacular style of play has earned him his critics, but he is far from the finished article at international level.
Rating - 5.5/10
Forward Daniel Sturridge was far from his Liverpool-self in Brazil, despite scoring the equaliser against Italy in Manaus. Still, that goal was far from superb - converting from close-range when it would have been harder to miss. Other than that, Sturridge was very poor. He missed a handful of chances in the match against Uruguay, which if they had have been converted, would have inevitably changed the outcome of the game. It was a disappointing summer for the forward, who boasts tremendous pace, intelligence, flair and potent finishing, but he showed very little of that. He started off well, and put in a good shift against Italy but he was below-par in the other two games, also spurning opportunities against Costa Rica - overall he had a conversion rate of just 9.09%, much lower than his 24.7% conversion rate for his club.
Rating - 5.5/10
Where to start with Glen Johnson? Other than his quite remarkable cross assist for the goal against Uruguay, which found Wayne Rooney with meticulous accuracy. The Liverpool full-back had a largely inconsistent Premier League season, and he carried that poor run of form into the World Cup. He was guilty of failing to close down Edinson Cavani quick enough before his cross found his club teammate Suárez to give Uruguay the lead in a 2-1 loss. Truthfully, his assist was the only thing masking several dreadful defensive performances. Going forward, he offered some options and created a number of chances but the 29-year-old can't expect to keep his right-back position for Euro 2016, purely due to his defensive inadequacy.
Rating - 5/10
The rare bright-spark for the Three Lions was exciting teenager Raheem Sterling. After lighting up the league last season, he was equally as brilliant against Italy. Against the Azzurri, the 19-year-old was deployed centrally in a front three behind a lone striker. In the 'no. 10' role, Sterling caused Andrea Pirlo all kinds of problems with his pace and intelligence, with the veteran deep lying-playmaker admitting the winger was the only Englishman to cause him any issues. His flair and attacking verve was extremely unpredictable, and he had an entire nation jumping off their seats in the opening minutes when a thunderous effort seemed to have put England 1-0 up, but it only hit the side-netting. That was perhaps the best individual performance of any Three Lions player at the tournament, but when shifted out wide in favour of Wayne Rooney, Sterling's impact dwindled somewhat. Despite the fact he was just 19, the Liverpool whizzkid proved that he will be perhaps one of the hottest prospects in world football sooner rather than later, and he may be a vital component of England's new generation in upcoming international competitions. No-one in the England squad dribbled the ball as many times as Sterling (17) and his clever movement and skill only enhanced his reputation.
Rating - 7/10
Rickie Lambert joined the Reds shortly before the tournament, but with new teammate Sturridge the first-choice striker, he was always unlikely to get much game time. He featured for just three minutes as Hodgson desperately threw the last of his dice in order to grab a much-needed point. The fact that he didn't step foot onto the pitch during the 90 minutes against Costa Rica, when his country were already out, showed that Lambert's playing-time at England may be over. Of the 21 players to feature for England in Brazil, nobody saw less action than the 32-year-old and he didn't even manage a pass in his short cameo against the Uruguayans, hence his low rating.
Rating - 4.5/10
Though not a Liverpool player until the tournament ended, new signing Adam Lallana was equally unimpressive as Lambert. The 26-year-old playmaker was one of just seven players to feature in all three of England’s matches, but only played 91 minutes in total - coming off the bench in the opening two fixtures before being withdrawn after an hour against Costa Rica. Lallana made just 41 passes in the tournament, making only two interceptions and tackles and not registering a single shot in addition. The ex-Southampton midfielder who enjoyed a strong 2013-14 season never got going in Brazil, and failed to live up to his pre-tournament hype.
Rating - 5.5/10
Belgium managed to reach the Quarter Finals rather comfortably, but eventually fell victim to the genius of Argentina. Gonzalo Higuaín's impromptu strike was enough to see them overcome the Europeans, who were largely underwhelming throughout the competition despite reaching the last eight for the first time since 1986.
Simon Mignolet didn't play a single minute for his country, having to settle for second-fiddle behind the formidable Thibaut Courtois. The latter lost only the first game of his international career versus La Albiceleste in the Quarters, after 21 performances. Mignolet, for all of his talent, looks set to be back-up for a number of years. He hasn't featured for Belgium since May 2013, and he'll be disappointed not to have played in a single minute this time around, but Courtois rightly boasts the number one spot having had several superb seasons on loan at Atletico Madrid.
Rating - N/A
However, there is one Belgian that's made his mark in Brazil. He might not be a Liverpool player yet, but he looks almost certain to become one after the tournament's climax and for that reason, we're counting him as a Red for now. That man is of course Lille's Divock Origi. The 19-year-old was a relative unknown before, but he has become an important figure for the Red Devils. He has played in every single game so far, replacing Romelu Lukaku in the 58th minute of the opening Group H game against Algeria for his debut. In the second group game, versus Russia, again after coming on as a substitute for Lukaku, Origi scored his first senior international goal in the 88th minute of a 1–0 win. After being found from the byline, he rifled an inside of the foot shot over Igor Akinfeev's head to secure his country's progression into the next round. He was a substitute again against South Korea, but the attacking midfielder was less fruitful. Still, in the Round of 16 game against the USA, he was chosen as the sole striker ahead of Lukaku and he put in a fine performance. Had it not have been for Tim Howard's heroics, his country would have won well before extra-time, but Origi's passing and vision was impressive throughout - tempting Rodgers to part ways with a lump sum to bring the Belgian to Liverpool. The deal has not yet been confirmed but it looks extremely likely. Origi lead the line for a successive game against Argentina, becoming the youngest player, at 19, to play in a World Cup quarterfinal since Pele in 1958. His unexperience showed though, as without any real supply, he never really edged into the game and was withdrawn shortly before the hour mark having made very little impact on the game.
Rating - 6.5/10
Meanwhile, France were one of several exciting, attacking sides at the World Cup, contributing 10 goals in five games. They comfortably sealed their progression with impressive 3-0 and 5-2 wins, before a bore 0-0 draw with Ecuador. In the Round of 16, they overcame a brief scare to see off Nigeria and set up a crunch Quarter Final clash versus Germany, but their shooting was off and they lost 1-0.
£18 million centre-back Mamadou Sakho was impressive, but his impact beyond the group stages was ultimately restricted by a thigh injury sustained against Ecuador. Consequently he missed the Round of 16 clash versus Nigeria, but elsewhere he was thoroughly sturdy. He only completed 90 minutes once, in the first game against Honduras. He was composed as ever when he did play, averaging 49.3 passes per game at an accuracy of 91.4% and despite the efforts of the English media, the French vice-captain was reliable as ever. Liverpool's No.17 played for only 71 minutes before leaving the field against Germany at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro. He was the better of the two at the back as Raphaël Varane who was guilty of being outmuscled for the opening goal, and was effective as ever at clearing the danger and organising the back-line.
Rating - 6.5/10
Spain, however, were perhaps the most uninspiring country at the competition. After going into the tournament looking to win their third consecutive major trophy, they spectacularly crashed out in the group stages. After the colossal crushing against the Netherlands, in which they lost 5-1, Spain were also taken apart by Chile 2-0, before ending it with a 3-0 win over Australia.
Pepe Reina, who spent last season on loan at Napoli, only played 90 minutes in the only game they kept a clean sheet. He replaced the substandard Iker Casillas, and put in an assured performance in their only win. It was his only ever World Cup appearance, and the 31-year-old was solid, but it counted for nothing more than trying to retain a little bit of pride for his country. He had the personal satisfaction of a clean sheet, but realistically speaking, he was rarely tested. Nevertheless, as an individual his tournament was reasonable.
Rating - 6.5/10
Uruguay had a fairly mixed tournament this time around. After a dreadful start in which they were beaten 3-1 by Costa Rica, before a Luis Suárez inspired 2-1 win against England and finally a Diego Godín header powered them past Italy and into the Round of 16, but again it was a Liverpool forward that dominated the headlines. For all the wrong reasons. Suárez bite and the subsequent ban saw him miss their knock-out stage match against Colombia, as the excellent James Rodríguez sealed their fate with two crucial goals.
Towering centre-back Sebastián Coates played all of two minutes in his country's campaign, coming on in the late stages to secure Uruguay's win against England. Coates only made a single pass, meaning his 100% accuracy is slightly deceiving. Other than that, there's not really much to say about the 23-year-old. Still, he was right in thinking that the fit-again Suárez could be decisive against the English.
Rating - 4.5/10
Luis Suárez, meanwhile, had a very eventful tournament. He stole a lot of the headlines in Brazil for all the right and all the wrong reasons. The clinical forward missed the first game through injury, having been forced to have knee surgery several weeks prior to the competition. The 27-year-old, despite not being in full fitness, burst onto the scene against England. He single-handedly powered his country past Hodgson's side, with a wonderfully placed header from a pin-point Cavani cross and a potent finish after capitalising on defensive inadequacy for the second. That sealed England's departure, and he had words of vengeance after the final whistle. He vowed that those goals were justice for the fact they had chastisised him at Liverpool, but he was made to swallow his words against Italy. Miraculously, he bit a player for the third time. After Giorgio Chiellini had kept him quiet for much of the game, he frustratedly reacted by biting down on his shoulder but the referee didn't se it and he was allowed to stay on the pitch, just moments later Godín saw them through but after the final whistle, Suárez faced retrospective action. FIFA condemned him to a nine-match international ban, and a four month ban from all footballing activity. The punishment meant that he missed the game in which Los Charrúas crashed out, but he'll still be the hero for his people despite his moments of madness.
Rating - 6.5/10
Ivory Coast were disappointing in their World Cup campaign, losing to a 93rd minute penalty against Greece and going out in the Group Stage in 3rd place. Les Éléphants managed just three points that came in a 2-1 win against Japan, but they were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Colombia and threw away qualification in the dying embers of their final match.
Liverpool's Ivorian representative, Kolo Touré, was another only to manage 90 minutes throughout the tournament. He covered for the suspended Didier Zokora in his country's final game but that game concluded as a 2-1 loss. Nevertheless, Touré was relatively solid defensively. Considering the grief news of his brother's passing, he did well to battle on and stay with his country, and his performance was a credit to the 32-year-old's character. He was impressive with the ball at his feet, but was poor aerially and couldn't do anything to stop his side falling victim to Georgios Samaras' penalty. It was a disappointing final tournament, but his performance was solid if not spectacular.
Rating - 6.5/10