With the World Cup set to kick off in just a couple of weeks, it’s a good time to consider just which Newcastle United players could feature in Qatar.
International managers have already submitted longlist squads, but they will soon be cut to 26, meaning Sunday’s trip to Southampton could be the final chance to impress.
Starting with the four whose place in Qatar seems absolutely secure, we have Bruno Guimaraes (Brazil), Kieran Trippier (England), Nick Pope (England) and Fabian Schar (Switzerland).
All of the above are now regulars within the national setup, with Trippier likely to start for the Three Lions if Reece James fails to win his fitness race.
Then comes Callum Wilson (England), Sven Botman (Netherlands) and new recruit Garang Kuol (Australia), a trio who are in with a real shout following impressive runs of form ahead of the tournament.
Wilson boosted his hopes with a brace on Saturday and appears to be battling the likes of Marcus Rashford, Tammy Abraham and Ivan Toney for a place in Southgate’s side. The England boss is a fan, calling him up in 2019, and the FA have been checking out his fitness programme, but some fear his injury history could work against him. Personally, I think he gets in.
With Botman, there can’t be a Premier League centre-back playing better than the giant Dutchman right now. He’s been named in the Netherlands’ initial 39-man squad, but the fact he’s never received a senior call-up leaves me doubtful.
As for Kuol, he could be a wise wildcard addition for the Aussies, with his pace, dynamism and ability to make an impact from the bench something that could appeal. He made his debut for Australia in a recent win over New Zealand and inspired a 4-2 win from 2-0 down for Central Coast Mariners over the weekend, so he could well arrive in January on the back of a couple of World Cup cameos!
Last but not least, it feels like Dan Burn (England) and Joelinton (Brazil) are massive long shots to make it. The former is allegedly in Southgate’s 55-man longlist, but he’s likely to be overlooked after failing to feature in any of England’s squads during qualification. Big Joe is in a similar situation. He may have scored and impressed when Brazil boss Tite was in the crowd at St James’ Park last weekend, but this one looks set to come too soon for the 26-year-old.
Out of the nine contenders, how many Mags do you see making it to Qatar?
