Next summer’s World Cup in North America will be the biggest ever seen, with 48 teams set to qualify for the biggest sporting showcase on the planet.
We can expect plenty of our players to also be heavily-involved for their countries: Bruno Guimaraes seems like a lock for Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil, Anthony Gordon has shone for England, and Sandro Tonali has been a standout for the Italian national team in their recent fixtures.
Toon fans will also be hopeful that the likes of Joelinton, Malick Thiaw and Sven Botman could also do enough to force their way into the national team conversation, with the latter still waiting to make his debut for Netherlands senior side.
And a new report has given us fresh hope that one squad player does make a surprise appearance at next year’s tournament, though not for the country that many will have expected…
According to reports in Nigeria, there is a possibility that Jacob Murphy switches his international allegiance from the Three Lions to the Super Eagles, despite initially rejecting their approach.
Murphy has been invited by manager Eric Chelle to join the squad, but it’s understood that Murphy turned down this most recent offer from the Nigerian FA.
Reports state that Murphy would be most interested in joining the squad on the condition that they qualify for the 2026 World Cup, which will be decided over the coming weeks as Nigeria plays Gabon and DR Congo face Cameroon in two semi-finals.
This looks to be the case for other Premier League players, with Crystal Palace’s Eddie Nketiah being eyed up by Ghana having only made a friendly appearance for England.
Perhaps Nigeria’s approach for Murphy was also with next month’s AFCON in mind, but it seems the 30-year-old will only U-turn on his initial decision if an opportunity to play at the World Cup presents itself.
The Wembley-born winger has played for England at U21 level and is able to play for the Republic of Ireland through his mother or Nigeria through his father, having never played for England’s senior side.
Murphy has made it clear in the past about his dreams of one day representing England at senior level, following in the footsteps of teammate Dan Burn of making his debut after turning 30.
Back in May, and coming off the best season of his career as the player with the second most assists in the Premier League, Murphy commented on his situation:
“Dreams of playing international football can still be there. Credit to the new manager for putting faith in Dan at such an age. Hopefully people at 30 aren’t being overlooked. 30 is the new 25!”