Liverpool have confirmed their squad for the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League league phase, with two experienced first-team players among the most notable omissions.
Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo have both been left out of Liverpool’s 25-man List A squad, despite remaining registered members of Andoni Iraola’s Premier League group.
Their absence is not simply a judgment on individual quality.
Liverpool’s decision is largely the result of UEFA’s stricter squad-registration rules, the club’s homegrown-player situation and the need to use senior places on young summer signings who cannot qualify for UEFA’s separate List B.
At the same time, Iraola has chosen to register several injured players, including Giovanni Leoni, Conor Bradley and Hugo Ekitike, because Liverpool expect them to become available during the league phase.
Who Did Liverpool Leave Out?
The two biggest senior omissions are:
- Federico Chiesa
- Wataru Endo
Both players are eligible to play domestically.
Liverpool included Chiesa and Endo in their official 25-man Premier League squad submitted on September 3, meaning the decision applies specifically to UEFA competition rather than their entire 2026/27 season.
For supporters following Liverpool across competitions, Score9ja’s Liverpool team centre provides fixtures, results and available squad information throughout the season.
Liverpool’s 2026/27 Champions League Squad
Liverpool’s submitted senior List A squad contains the following players:
Goalkeepers
- Alisson Becker
- Giorgi Mamardashvili
- Freddie Woodman
- Vitezslav Jaros
Defenders
- Virgil van Dijk
- Ronald Araujo
- Jeremy Jacquet
- Giovanni Leoni
- Joe Gomez
- Conor Bradley
- Jeremie Frimpong
- Milos Kerkez
- Kostas Tsimikas
- Luke Chambers
- Isaac Mabaya
Midfielders
- Florian Wirtz
- Dominik Szoboszlai
- Alexis Mac Allister
- Ryan Gravenberch
- James McConnell
Forwards
- Alexander Isak
- Bradley Barcola
- Hugo Ekitike
- Cody Gakpo
- Victor Muñoz
Young players including Trey Nyoni, Rio Ngumoha, Lewis Koumas and Jayden Danns can instead be registered through UEFA’s List B because they satisfy the required age and club-training conditions.
Why Liverpool Had to Make Difficult Choices?
The central issue is UEFA’s squad-registration system.
A club can name a maximum of 25 players on List A, but at least eight of those places are reserved for locally trained players.
Within those eight, no more than four can be association-trained rather than club-trained.
If a club cannot provide eight qualifying locally trained players, its permitted List A size is reduced accordingly.
This is different from the Premier League system.
In England, players classed as under-21 do not occupy places in the normal 25-man Premier League squad.
UEFA does not automatically give every young player the same exemption.
That difference is crucial to understanding why Liverpool have left out two experienced players.
Why Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni Take Senior UEFA Places?
Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni are young enough to be exempt from Liverpool’s Premier League squad limit.
But they cannot simply be placed on UEFA List B.
To qualify for List B in the 2026/27 Champions League, a player must generally be born on or after January 1, 2005 and have been eligible to play for the club for an uninterrupted period of at least two years after their 15th birthday, or satisfy UEFA’s related three-year provision.
Jacquet and Leoni have not been at Liverpool long enough.
They therefore require full List A positions despite their age.
That effectively creates additional pressure on Liverpool’s 25 available places.
A player such as Rio Ngumoha can be registered separately through List B because he meets the relevant youth-development requirement.
Jacquet and Leoni cannot.
This is one of the biggest reasons Liverpool had to remove established senior players from their European squad.
Why Federico Chiesa Was Left Out?
Chiesa’s current injury is part of the calculation.
The Italian suffered a small muscle problem during Liverpool’s pre-season match against Como and has not been available for the start of the Premier League season.
Iraola said on September 3 that Chiesa is expected to return to team training around the September international break.
That injury alone, however, does not fully explain his exclusion.
Liverpool have registered other players with considerably more serious fitness problems.
The more important issue is Chiesa’s position in the attacking hierarchy.
Liverpool can already call upon:
- Bradley Barcola
- Cody Gakpo
- Alexander Isak
- Victor Muñoz
- Rio Ngumoha through List B
- Hugo Ekitike when fit
With places limited, Liverpool appear to have decided that other positions required greater protection.
For Chiesa, it is another difficult European squad decision after he was initially excluded from Liverpool’s Champions League group last season before later being added following Giovanni Leoni’s long-term injury.
Why Wataru Endo Was Left Out?
Endo’s omission is arguably more surprising because the Japan international is currently fit enough to be part of Liverpool’s domestic squad.
However, he has yet to play a competitive minute under Iraola this season.
Liverpool also have several midfield options ahead of him, including:
- Ryan Gravenberch
- Alexis Mac Allister
- Dominik Szoboszlai
- Florian Wirtz
- James McConnell
- Trey Nyoni through List B
Endo remains useful because of his defensive discipline and experience, but UEFA registration forces managers to consider not only who is useful but also who is most likely to play meaningful European minutes.
The presence of McConnell on List A and Nyoni’s availability through List B reduces Liverpool’s need to reserve another European place for a defensive midfielder who currently appears lower in Iraola’s selection order.
Why Are Injured Players Included Instead?
This is where Liverpool’s selection becomes particularly interesting.
Giovanni Leoni
Leoni has not played since suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury in September 2025.
He is expected to return to team training during the September international break.
Liverpool therefore believe he could become available relatively early in the Champions League league phase.
Because he does not qualify for List B, excluding him would mean losing a potentially important centre-back for the entire first phase of the tournament.
Conor Bradley
Bradley is recovering from significant knee surgery after suffering an injury against Arsenal in January.
No firm return date has been announced.
Despite that uncertainty, Liverpool have retained him because he provides an important option at right-back once fit.
Hugo Ekitike
Ekitike is recovering from an Achilles tendon rupture suffered in April.
His return is expected later than Leoni’s, but Liverpool have still chosen to protect his Champions League eligibility.
That indicates how highly Iraola values having Ekitike available if his recovery progresses during the later league-phase fixtures.
Why Liverpool Could Not Simply Put Chiesa and Endo on List B?
List B is not a general reserve list.
It exists mainly to allow clubs to use appropriately developed young players without those players consuming senior List A positions.
UEFA permits an unlimited number of List B registrations, but players must satisfy strict age and development requirements.
Chiesa is 28 and Endo is 33.
Neither qualifies.
They therefore needed one of the limited List A places if Liverpool wanted them available in the Champions League.
This is why comparing their situation with Ngumoha or Nyoni would be misleading.
The younger players occupy a completely different UEFA registration category.
Liverpool’s Homegrown Problem Explained
Liverpool managed to name the full 25 players this season, but the squad still contains only a limited pool of footballers who meet UEFA’s locally trained definitions.
Liverpool’s relevant locally trained options include players such as:
- Joe Gomez
- Conor Bradley
- Jeremie Frimpong
- Freddie Woodman
- Vitezslav Jaros
- Luke Chambers
- Isaac Mabaya
- James McConnell
The departures and changes within Liverpool’s squad have made balancing those UEFA requirements more complicated.
Curtis Jones’ move to Inter Milan is particularly relevant because it removed another club-developed option who could previously help satisfy the quota.
That means the club cannot simply fill all 25 positions with its preferred senior internationals.
Squad composition matters just as much as squad size.
Can Chiesa or Endo Still Play in the Champions League This Season?
Yes, potentially.
Being excluded now does not automatically mean they are unavailable for the entire competition.
There are two possible routes back.
Long-term injury replacement
UEFA’s 2026/27 regulations allow a club to temporarily replace one outfield player on List A during the league phase if that player suffers an injury or illness expected to keep him out for at least 60 days.
The replacement must already have been registered domestically with the club before the September List A deadline, and the locally trained quota must still be respected.
That mechanism helped Chiesa enter Liverpool’s European squad last season after Leoni suffered his serious knee injury.
A similar situation could theoretically arise again.
New squad after the league phase
After the league phase is completed, clubs can register up to three new eligible players for the knockout rounds.
The deadline for those changes is February 4, 2027.
Liverpool could therefore restore Chiesa or Endo if they qualify for the knockout phase and Iraola decides either player deserves a place.
What This Means for Chiesa’s Liverpool Future?
The Champions League omission inevitably creates questions over Chiesa’s long-term position at Anfield.
He remains a Liverpool player and is registered for Premier League football.
Once he recovers from his muscle injury, Iraola can use him domestically.
But losing a Champions League place for the second consecutive league phase indicates that the Italian is not currently among the club’s most protected senior options.
Barcola’s arrival has also increased competition in Liverpool’s attacking areas.
Chiesa now needs to use Premier League and domestic cup opportunities to force his way higher in the hierarchy before Liverpool submit a revised European squad in February.
That does not mean a departure is inevitable.
It does mean his margin for earning regular minutes has become smaller.
What This Means for Endo?
Endo’s situation is slightly different.
At 33, his value lies primarily in experience, tactical discipline and his ability to protect leads or cover defensive midfield roles.
Liverpool clearly still see enough value in him to retain him in their Premier League squad.
But the European omission suggests that Iraola currently favours younger midfielders when planning for the Champions League.
Endo may therefore become particularly important in:
- Premier League rotation
- FA Cup matches
- League Cup matches
- Periods of fixture congestion
- Matches where Liverpool need greater defensive control
Strong domestic performances could still change his European status before the knockout rounds.
Liverpool Open Champions League Campaign Against Atletico Madrid
Liverpool begin their 2026/27 Champions League league phase at Anfield against Atletico Madrid on September 9.
Their league-phase schedule also includes matches against LASK, Villarreal, Fenerbahce, Club Brugge, Porto, Inter and Lens.
Supporters can follow dates, kick-off times and upcoming games through Score9ja’s UEFA Champions League fixtures.
The Atletico opener will provide the first indication of how Iraola intends to use the squad he has selected.
Chiesa and Endo cannot feature, while players registered through List B can be added to the match squad provided the relevant UEFA deadline is met. UEFA confirmed that List B can be updated throughout the season up to the day before each fixture.
Does Liverpool’s Squad Look Strong Enough?
The attacking quality is significant.
Liverpool have Isak, Barcola, Gakpo and Muñoz available immediately, with Ekitike expected to return later.
The midfield includes Wirtz, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister and Gravenberch.
The larger question may be defensive availability.
Bradley and Leoni are still recovering from serious injuries, while Joe Gomez has also been working his way back from a muscle problem.
That makes the decision to protect defensive List A places understandable.
Liverpool have effectively chosen future defensive depth over immediate access to Chiesa and Endo.
Whether that decision proves correct will depend heavily on injury recovery and how far Liverpool progresses.
Final Word
Liverpool leaving Federico Chiesa and Wataru Endo out of the Champions League squad looks surprising when viewed only through reputation.
The decision makes considerably more sense once UEFA’s registration rules are considered.
Young summer signings Jeremy Jacquet and Giovanni Leoni cannot use List B because they have not spent enough time at Liverpool, so both require senior List A places.
At the same time, Liverpool must protect their locally trained quota and decide which experienced players are most important for the eight-match league phase.
Chiesa’s injury and Liverpool’s attacking depth made him vulnerable.
Endo’s limited role under Iraola and Liverpool’s ability to use young midfielders through List B made him another logical casualty.
Neither player has been removed from Liverpool’s domestic plans, and both could still return to the European squad later in the season.
For now, however, Iraola has prioritised squad structure and longer-term availability over experience.
