World Cup gives Iraola key Liverpool scouting mission for Wirtz, Isak

Andoni Iraola’s first Liverpool summer was shaped by the World Cup, not by a quiet settling-in period at Anfield. With the tournament running from June 11 to July 19 across the United States, Canada and Mexico, the new head coach had a live scouting board for Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Yan Diomande while Liverpool’s rebuild gathered pace.

Liverpool confirmed on June 4 that Iraola had agreed to become head coach ahead of the 2026-27 season, replacing Arne Slot after his sacking. His own record at AFC Bournemouth gave the club a clear benchmark: three Premier League finishes in a row, 12th, ninth and sixth, a rise that explained why Liverpool turned to him for a fresh attacking reset after a poor defence of the title.

The scale of the task was already visible in Liverpool’s transfer business. In June 2025, the club agreed a British-record package for Wirtz worth £116.5m, including £100m guaranteed and up to £16.5m in add-ons. Later reporting said Liverpool also completed a British-record £125m move for Isak from Newcastle United, leaving Iraola with a squad carrying two of the most expensive attacking signings in the club’s history before he had even taken charge.

That is why the World Cup matters so much to Liverpool’s planning. Phil McNulty’s central point was that Iraola would use the tournament as a fact-finding mission on the players he inherits as well as on possible additions, and the timing helped Liverpool in practical terms because only a limited number of first-team players were away with their countries. That left room for pre-season work at home while the coaching staff studied how Wirtz, Isak and others handled high-pressure knockout football.

Diomande sat in a different category, but no less relevant to the rebuild. He had emerged in wider transfer reporting as a Liverpool target before the World Cup, and his performances offered the sort of test that should matter most to Iraola: whether a player’s age profile, workload and tactical fit justify serious money before the market price rises further. For Liverpool, the World Cup was not a spectacle to admire from a distance. It was an early filter for a manager charged with turning elite talent into a more coherent side.