Manchester United have had 18 players called up for international duty this month and a few of them have already represented their respective countries.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot all completed 90 minutes for Portugal in their hard-fought 3-1 win over Turkey in the World Cup semi-final play-off.
The 2016 European champions, betting favourites with newbettingsites.com.au to beat Turkey, are now favourites to qualify and will face North Macedonia for a place in the World Cup. The latter can’t be taken lightly after their shock 1-0 win over Italy.
On the other side of the European World Cup semi-final play-offs, Victor Lindelof completed the entire 120 minutes of Sweden’s 1-0 triumph over the Czech Republic.
Anthony Elanga also made his international bow for Sweden off the bench. Lindelof will be aiming to lead his team to the World Cup when they face Poland on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Fred and Edinson Cavani were involved for Brazil and Uruguay in their 4-0 and 1-0 World Cup qualifier wins over Chile and Peru. Uruguay have now booked their World Cup spot.
Scott McTominay featured in an international friendly for Scotland against Poland. The Scots had to settle for a frustrating 1-1 draw after a last-gasp equaliser from Krzysztof Piatek.
Wales are expected to face one of Scotland or Ukraine for a World Cup berth, but their fate won’t be decided until June. The fixtures have been postponed due to the war in Ukraine.
Looking at the African World Cup qualifiers, club graduate Hannibal Mejbri could be involved during Tunisia’s double-legged third round tie against Mali. He has 11 caps thus far.
There are no other major qualifier games, but club graduate Alejandro Garnacho could be in line for his Argentina debut after earning a shock call-up from manager Lionel Scaloni.
With Argentina having already sealed a World Cup spot, the 17-year-old could make his national team bow. The youngster has yet to play a competitive game at senior level.
Meanwhile, there will be several other United stars on international friendly duty. Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Eric Bailly are all expected to feature.
Bailly has a big test on his hands against France and England. Pogba and Varane are likely to come up against him before taking on South Africa in another friendly at home.
England host Switzerland and Ivory Coast at Wembley Stadium. Despite their inconsistent club form, Maguire and Shaw remain key players for the Three Lions and could start both matches.
