United stars with eye on World Cup

THE countdown is on to the 2026 World Cup, with places already booked at the showcase tournament next summer.

- By STUART JAMIESON

The qualification games will be wrapped up in November, with playoffs following for some of the sides who missed out on an automatic place.

Newcastle United are set to be represented by several stars, while there are opportunities for others to grab a place in the national squads before the lineups are confirmed. Here’s the latest situation on the United players hoping to be on the plane next summer.

ENGLAND

Potential call-ups: Anthony Gordon, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall, Nick Pope, Aaron Ramsdale, Jacob Ramsey

Newcastle have four players in serious contention for a place on the plane, with a few others holding a slim hope. Thomas Tuchel's side look a shoo-in to qualify and will be effectively there if they beat Serbia in Belgrade tonight.

Even a surprise defeat to the Serbs would not change the fact England are in control of their group, with three more games to play against Latvia, Serbia and Albania.

You would expect Anthony Gordon and Tino Livramento to feature, while Dan Burn has been a regular under Tuchel and Lewis Hall could well compete with Arsenal's Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.