While some Manchester United stars have jetted off to join their national teams, others will be disappointed to miss out on a call-up.
Just as Manchester United and Ruben Amorim were building momentum with a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City, the March international break came around.
There are 12 Manchester United players on international duty this month with a mix of World Cup qualifiers, Nations League knockouts and friendly matches taking place over the next week.
Some of United’s stars will even face each other with Diogo Dalot sending Rasmus Hojlund a message ahead of Portugal against Denmark.
But there are 14 United players who missed out on an international call-up for a variety of reasons.
Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Jadon Sancho (England)
Marcus Rashford was recalled by England following his bright start at Aston Villa, but he is the only United star who made Thomas Tuchel’s first squad.
Fellow United loanee, Jadon Sancho was snubbed by Tuchel. Sancho has been awful at Chelsea and his last England appearance came way back in 2021. He only has himself to blame for his career downfall.
Kobbie Mainoo got his first England call-up this time last year, and he likely would have made the squad again had it not been for injury.
Harry Maguire and Mason Mount are recovering from injury but haven’t played enough football to warrant an England call-up. The same can be said for Luke Shaw, who returned to training but has not yet returned to the starting lineup at United.
Their next chance at making the England squad will come in June before the next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Joshua Zirkzee and Tyrell Malacia (Netherlands)
After a slow start in Manchester, Joshua Zirkzee has become a fan favourite at United this season. He handled his challenging start well and has now produced some wonderful displays as a No.10.
However, Joshua Zirkzee was snubbed from the latest Netherlands squad and manager Ronald Koeman didn’t hold back when asked why.
As quoted by Goal, Koeman said: “I don’t think he’s good enough at the moment. In particular, scanning when turning or passing often goes wrong.”
Koeman also snubbed Tyrell Malacia from the latest squad despite Malacia starring for PSV in a recent 3-0 win.
The 25-year-old is fit and playing regularly in the Eredivisie, but it seems he has a fight on his hands to get back into the national team picture.
Antony and Casemiro (Brazil)
Antony has been in remarkable form for Real Betis with four goals and four assists in his first 11 games, but it wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the Brazil squad.
Antony has made 16 caps for Brazil, but his last appearance came in 2023 and he has once again missed out. Casemiro also hasn’t represented Brazil since 2023, and at 33 years old his time on the international stage might be over.
Alejandro Garnacho and Lisandro Martinez (Argentina)
Manchester United’s World Cup winner Lisandro Martinez injured his ACL this season and has undergone surgery. It is pretty self-explanatory why he missed out on Argentina’s latest squad.
However, Alejandro Garnacho will be extremely disappointed to have missed out on a call-up. Garnacho ended his goal drought against Leicester, but his spot in the Argentina squad has been taken.
MundoAlbiceleste report that Bologna’s 21-year-old winger Benjamin Dominguez has claimed Garnacho’s spot in the squad.
Altay Bayindir (Turkey)
It was almost a month ago that Altay Baynidir posted a recovery video, hinting that he was close to a return. But that hasn’t proved to be the case, with the 26-year-old still out of action.
He will now miss Turkey’s Nations League fixtures this week.
Leny Yoro (France)
Leny Yoro is yet to make his senior international debut for France, but he will be knocking on the door if he continues his strong form at United.
However, the 19-year-old will have to wait a little while longer. An unfortunate injury kept him out of the Real Sociedad and Leicester matches, so his full focus this week will be on returning to full fitness.
Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast)
Ivory Coast face some crucial World Cup qualifiers this week, but they will have to navigate the matches without Amad Diallo.
Amad could return before the end of the season, but there is a chance that his ankle injury suffered last month will rule him out until next season.
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