England absence, Brazilian star: 5 Man United players who will be at the World Cup, 4 who probably won't
A lot of Ruben Amorim’s Manchester squad will be hoping to receive call-ups to the World Cup in the summer.
Man United will be turning their attention back to the Premier League this week, as they will return from the international break with a game against Everton on Monday night, when they will hope to make it six games unbeaten in a row.
Several Red Devils have been away on international duty over the past week and a half, trying to impress their national team managers with the hope of getting a call-up to their World Cup squads at the end of the season. For some, such as Benjamin Sesko, the hopes of playing at the tournament are already gone, as Slovenia missed out on qualification.
However, for others such as Casemiro, Luke Shaw, Joshua Zirkzee and more, they will be on the fringes of World Cup selection, so they’ll be hoping to impress for the rest of the season to book their spot on the plane to the USA, Canada and Mexico in the summer.
5 Man United players who will go to the World Cup
Fernandes, De Ligt, Casemiro, Mazraoui, Diallo
With so many United players vying for a spot at the World Cup, there are some names who look as if they will be nailed on members of their national team squads, some of which could be a slightly surprising.
Firstly, Bruno Fernandes is arguably Portugal’s best player, he will no doubt be on the plane to the World Cup, and he scored a hat-trick in their last game, which was a 9-1 win against Armenia on Sunday.
Matthijs de Ligt also looks set to join the Netherlands and play in the World Cup. He hasn’t always started for Ronald Koeman, but he virtually always gets a call-up, and has been one of United’s best players so far this season.
Somewhat of a surprise, but Casemiro also feels nailed on. Since Carlo Ancelotti became Brazil’s manager, he has really prioritised his former Real Madrid star, and with Casemiro looking much improved for United this season, it feels as though he will go to the World Cup.
Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui are both expected to play major roles for their teams at the Africa Cup of Nations. The Ivory Coast and Morocco stars will surely be nailed on for the World Cup in the summer too.
4 Man United players who could miss the World Cup
Shaw, Zirkzee, Yoro, Bayindir
Firstly, Luke Shaw has been a big part of the England squad in the past, playing a role at left-back under Gareth Southgate when he’s been fit. However, the defender has been inconsistent for United, and as he will be competing with the likes of Myles Lewis-Skelly and Nico O’Reilly, it looks like he could miss out.
Joshua Zirkzee needs a January transfer move away if he wants any hope of making the Netherlands World Cup side. He hasn’t been able to consistently get into the Man United XI, and needs more minutes; otherwise, he won’t be on the plane.
Leny Yoro has shown major improvement for Man United this season, but the level of competition from other French centre-backs will keep him out of the squad, as the likes of William Saliba and Ibrahima Konate will get the call-up instead.
Finally, Altay Bayindir has consistently been a solid part of the Turkish national team, but seeing as he is no longer the starter at Man United, Turkey have been prioritising Galatasaray goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir instead.
For Bryan Mbeumo there will be no World Cup as Cameroon have been knocked out