England could seal their passage to the next round in this winter’s World Cup with victory over the USA on Friday after Gareth Southgate’s men comfortably dispatched Iran earlier this week.
Three Reds were named in Southgate’s 26-man squad and all three players have already directly contributed to at least one goal in the tournament.
Luke Shaw assisted Jude Bellingham’s opener against Iran, with Maguire doing the same for Bukayo Saka’s strike minutes later. In the second half, Marcus Rashford marked his return to international football with a sublime finish.
Rashford is, however, not expected to start against the USA despite his promising cameo against Iran. According to The Athletic, Southgate will name an unchanged line-up on Friday.
That means United pair Maguire and Shaw will keep their places in the side. Maguire has withdrawn from the six-goal thrashing due to illness but the Reds skipper has recovered in time.
The 29-year-old is also poised to reach a major milestone for the Three Lions, with Maguire set to make his 50th appearance.
Shaw has the opportunity to add to his incredible attacking returns in major international tournaments. His perfect cross for Bellingham on Monday meant that he has been directly involved in five goals in his last five international tournament appearances – a run stretching back to England’s EURO 2020 campaign.
Victory over the USA means that England will be able to rotate in the final game against Wales and that could offer Rashford the chance to impress again.
