West Ham United will be pretty well represented at next summer’s World Cup, with Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and El Hadji Malick Diouf almost certain to be selected for England, Brazil and Senegal respectively.
Mads Hermansen should have a seat on the plane too, even if Denmark coach Brian Riemer is concerned about the goalkeeper’s game time – or a lack thereof – at West Ham United. Tomas Soucek, Andy Irving and even Callum Marshall could feature too, at the so-called ‘Festival of Football’.
Mateus Fernandes might even be a senior Portugal international by then.
A few months ago, while he was still at Southampton, Portugal boss Roberto Martinez said Fernandes was ‘close’ to forcing his way into the senior set-up.
And though Aaron Wan-Bissaka finally gave up on his England dream – former DR Congo captain Gabriel Zakuani was ‘sure’ the Hammers’ reigning Player of the Year would be selected at last by Thomas Tuchel – the decision to change his international allegiances could prove to be an inspired one.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka during West Ham United v Lille OSC - Pre-Season Friendly
Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images
West Ham United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka edges closer to World Cup dream with DR Congo
DR Congo can take one giant stride closer to World Cup qualification if they beat Nigeria on Sunday.
Wan-Bissaka helped Sebastian Desabre’s side break Cameroon hearts last night – ex-Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba scored a late winner to bring an end to the hopes Manchester United superstar Bryan Mbeumo – meaning a nation sitting 60th in the FIFA World Rankings are closer than ever to making history.
Thanks, largely, to the good work of Gabriel Zakuani.
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The former Congo captain and one-time Peterborough United defender has made it his mission to convince those eligible for the Leopards to switch their allegiances. The French-born Yoane Wissa has represented DR Congo since 2020, while Wan-Bissaka was joined at the heart of an immense rearguard by Burnley’s Axel Tuanzebe as a Cameroon side packed with talent saw their faint hopes go up in smoke.
“[Wissa] was the hard one,” Zakuani tells BBC Sport. “[But] Wan-Bissaka and even Tuanzebe were all very difficult because the players were 50-50 about it.
“Then, I think the key was the parents. You have to visit the parents. The parents would know me from being the captain of the DR Congo, so that makes the conversation a little bit easier.
“Then we just, as Africans are, you’re very friendly and you talk about other things. I went there speaking about Wissa joining and Wan-Bissaka joining and then we ended up half of the conversation was about politics and the president.
“It’s a very relaxed situation and in the end, it’s the player’s decision. I think once the parents feel that it’s a good environment for their son, I think it makes the conversation a lot easier when I get to the player.”
Gabriel Zakuani bemused by Thomas Tuchel’s Wan-Bissaka snub
Zakuani admits he was stunned when Thomas Tuchel continued to omit Wan-Bissaka from his England plans. Tottenham’s Djed Spence even earned a call-up recently, while the West Ham fans were left baffled when the perma-crocked Reece James was also selected ahead of their 2024/25 Hammer of the Year.
“I was sure that Wan-Bissaka after last season, because he got West Ham Player of the Year, that he would possibly be in an England squad. And the fact that he wasn’t, I think was the key,” Zakuani adds.
“The same for Yoane as well. So, I think the fact they didn’t make the squads probably helped my case a lot more.”
Two players reportedly on West Ham’s radar – Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo and Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly – were nowhere to be seen as England beat Serbia 2-0 at Wembley on Thursday night.
West Ham have reportedly offered Mainoo a spot in their midfield. Reports linking the versatile Lewis-Skelly with a move across London, meanwhile, may be because the Hammers are concerned about the upcoming African Cup of Nations and the impact it will have on their roster.
Nuno is set to lose Wan-Bissaka and Malick Diouf.
Providing the former joins the latter in securing a World Cup spot, 2026 will be an extremely busy year for Aaron Wan-Bissaka on both the domestic and the international stage.