Benitez expects Reds to benefit from World CupRafa Benitez believes Liverpool will benefit from the feel-good factor generated by his stars' World Cup success. Benitez's squad contains 16 players fighting to reach next year's finals, with those from England, Spain, Holland and Brazil already looking forward to South Africa South Africa, Afrikaans Suid-Afrika, officially Republic of South Africa, republic (2005 est. pop. 44,344,000), 471,442 sq mi (1,221,037 sq km), S Africa. after clinching qualification. With their places at the World Cup secured, Benitez hopes the likes of Steven Gerrard Steven George Gerrard MBE (IPA: ['stiːvn 'dʒɛɹɑːd]) (born 30 May, 1980, Whiston, Merseyside) is an English football player. He is the captain of Liverpool, where he wears the number 8 shirt. , Glen Johnson Glen Johnson may refer to:
The Reds face promoted Burnley on Saturday for the first time in the league for 33 years, with their Champions League campaign starting on Wednesday against Hungarian champions Debrecen. "I am not sure now what various international managers will do with their players in final qualifying games now they are sure of going to the finals," Benitez said. "They may try to rest players, experiment or plan, but for sure everyone will now be relaxed and not playing under such pressure. "Now that the English and Spanish players have qualified this week it should make things easier for us. "At least mentally they do not need to worry any more about their qualification. "They need to go to internationals now and enjoy the situation, and that will be another plus point for us because there are no distractions with regard to qualifying or not now. They are there." Several more of Liverpool's squad are on the point of qualifying including Daniel Agger Daniel Munthe Agger (born 12 December 1984 in Hvidovre) is a Danish professional footballer who currently plays as a central defender for English club Liverpool. He started his senior career at Danish club Brøndby IF in July 2004, with whom he won the 2005 Danish Superliga of Denmark, Slovakia's Martin Skrtel and Italian midfielder Alberto Aquilani Alberto Aquilani born in Rome, Italy (July 7, 1984) is an Italian football midfielder who currently plays for AS Roma. Aquilani is considered one of the most promising football talents in Italy. He highly considers Il Capitano Francesco Totti as a mentor. . Benitez, who hopes to have full-back Fabio Aurelio in his squad for the first time this season after a knee operation, said: "A lot of players have been away, some in many different parts of the world. Some will return within 24 hours, others less than a few hours before the next match. "It is not unique to us, all top clubs have the problem, but we have tried to handle it better. It is a reality of our situation. "It can be difficult, but hopefully we have learned and we have been winning more games after such weeks. "We changed things. We trained in the evenings so that players could be together more, if they returned on a Friday we trained in the evening. "First you let them talk about their games. Then they must focus on the next game." Benitez has also made it clear he does not want Ryan Babel Ryan Guno Babel (born December 19, 1986 in Amsterdam) is a Dutch professional football player who currently plays for Liverpool. He is right footed and plays as a striker or a left winger. He has been a member of the Netherlands national football team since 2005. to join Ajax on loan during the next transfer window after the Dutch winger wing·er n. Sports A player who plays wing, as in hockey or soccer. winger Noun Sport a player positioned on a wing Noun 1. expressed a desire to get regular first-team football elsewhere to improve his chances of going to the World Cup. "I will talk to Ryan. But I do not want him going on loan, he needs to work and fight for his place here," Benitez said. Benitez's first priority is to take three points from Burnley, who have already beaten Manchester United and Everton. "Burnley are doing well, they are a new team to the Premier League and the big thing about them is that they know each other well and they know their strengths," Benitez said. "To beat Manchester United and Everton means they are capable of beating anyone on their day. So it is important for us to be aware of this and to be focused, we cannot afford to make any mistakes." 
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