Gareth Southgate has some tough decisions to make as he narrows down his England squad ahead of the World Cup, with the fate of a number of Manchester United players of the key questions to answer.
Southgate is set to name his provisional squad for the tournament on Wednesday 19th October, which is 33 days before kick-off in Qatar. With the final 26-man squad needing to be submitted to FIFA by Sunday 13th November, there is still time to earn (and lose) those seats on the plane, with some huge talking points across the board during the international break.
As for United, a disappointing 2021/22 season means some players who had looked like sure-fire picks for Qatar are now in danger of missing out altogether. Harry Maguire remains captain of the Red Devils under Erik ten Hag, but has lost his starting role at club level — and there have been calls for the centre-back to be dropped at international level as a result. Likewise with Luke Shaw, who is now second choice to Tyrell Malacia, and that could cost him with Southgate.
