A number of Manchester United players are sweating on their place in England’s World Cup squad, with only a select few called up by Gareth Southgate for this month’s set of games.
England will face Italy and Germany in a final rehearsal before they jet off to Qatar in November as the Three Lions aim to build on their journey to the EURO 2020 final.
Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford have both been in inspired form this season for United, with the pair being at the heart of most of United’s attacks thus far.
There is no room for either in Southgate’s squad however but Rashford is believed to have missed out due to injury. Sancho is fit and is likely to play in tonight’s game against Sheriff Tiraspol.
Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw have been dropped by Erik ten Hag this season and their chances of joining England on the squad looked bleak but Southgate has explained the decision to call the pair up.
Read more: Jadon Sancho misses out on England squad
“Clearly, we have a number of players including Ben Chilwell, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Kalvin Phillips who are not playing a lot of minutes with their club. It is not ideal, but we feel they have been, and can be, important players for us,” Southgate said, according to Football Daily.
“It’s not a perfect situation but there is still a lot of football to be played before Qatar.”
SN’s verdict…
Sancho must be wondering how some other players are being picked ahead of him in the England side. Jack Grealish and Mason Mount in particular have been increasingly underwhelming over the past 12 months.
It’s fair to believe that Rashford would have been called up if he had not sustained that untimely injury. For Maguire and Shaw, this feels like a make-or-break moment.
Both players were integral to England in last year’s European Championship and Southgate will be keen on having them in the squad but they must start performing.
