England World Cup Squad News: Should United star Shaw be heading stateside with England this summer?

Luke Shaw issued a timely reminder of his qualities to Thomas Tuchel on Sunday, as the England manager prepares to finalise his 2026 World Cup squad.

Manchester United’s left-back scored his first goal in over three years during a 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest – but it was the 30-year-old’s all-round contribution that caught the eye, reflecting a season of consistently high standards.

Shaw has been a key figure in the Red Devils’ charge up the table under Michael Carrick, yet there has been relatively little clamour for his inclusion in England’s 26-man squad this summer.

There is surely a case to be made for United’s No.23, though, after an impressive campaign that has seen him start every Premier League match to date.

So, should Shaw be on the plane to the United States next month? We’ve delved into the data to see how he compares with the Three Lions’ other left-sided options…

Fitness in focus

Having been plagued by injuries for much of his career, Shaw’s sheer volume of minutes this season may come as something of a surprise.

The London-born defender has played 3,149 minutes of top-flight football since August, with only Bournemouth’s Adrien Truffert (3,200) bettering that figure among Premier League left-backs.

However, it is worth noting that all of Shaw’s action has come in league matches, on account of United’s early exits from both domestic cup competitions and a lack of European football.

His recent durability is therefore caveated by the fact he has rarely had to play more than one game a week throughout 2025/26, which is a far cry from the intense schedule of a World Cup.

Shaw may not be expected to start every game were he to be called up, of course, but it’s worth noting that his rivals for a spot in the squad – Nico O'Reilly and Lewis Hall – can boast comparable numbers when we look across all competitions, at 3,953 minutes and 3,164 minutes, respectively.

The pair have fought on multiple fronts for Manchester City and Newcastle United while largely remained fit, suggesting they could perhaps be better options if we’re focusing solely on likely availability.

But it is also worth considering consistency of performance across the season, as United manager Carrick recently pointed out.

“It is his consistency, his performance, his experience, his strengths and the attributes he has got,” he said, when discussing why Shaw is worthy of a call-up.

“He is a fantastic full-back. He is at that stage now where he has got an awful lot of experience. That will be valuable for us next season, however many games he plays.”

Tournament know-how

Carrick’s point about Shaw’s experience is an important one.

Neither O'Reilly or Hall have been to a World Cup or European Championship before, with their combined total of England caps standing at just seven ahead of next month’s warm-up friendlies.

In contrast, Shaw has 34 caps to his name and has featured in an impressive four major tournaments – playing in the Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 finals and even scoring in the first of those showpiece events.

Even if, as expected, O'Reilly is England’s starting left-back this summer, that experience could be invaluable around the camp, to help guide the team’s younger players through what can be an emotional rollercoaster.

Shaw’s versatility may also come into Tuchel’s thinking, if he is considering him as a potential squad option rather than a starter.

Newcastle’s Hall is exclusively a left-back, playing all but 132 of his minutes in all competitions on the left side.

It is a different story for Shaw, though, who has seen his time split relatively evenly between some variation of the left-back role and left-sided centre-back.

With Tuchel having to narrow down an array of talented options to just 26 players, having someone who can cover both positions if necessary could prove valuable when piecing his squad together.

Different profiles

Despite talk of experience and versatility, there is an argument to be made that the England squad should simply be made up of the nation’s best available players.

So how does Shaw perform on that front, when we compare his data against O’Reilly and Hall?

Well, a direct comparison is tricky on account of the trio playing in slightly different positions – and Shaw spending a significant period of time at centre-back, as previously mentioned.

But if we look exclusively at Premier League statistics on a per 90 basis, it’s clear that the former Southampton man’s strengths lie in his defensive acumen.

He is dominant in the air, for example, winning 56% of his aerial duels, compared with 52% for Reilly and just 46% for Hall.

And he rarely loses a challenge, only failing to dispossess an oncoming attacker an average of 0.46 times per match, versus O’Reilly’s 0.77 and Hall’s 0.65.

However, there is little doubt that O’Reilly and Hall are two outstanding performers when it comes to winning the ball high up the pitch and providing attacking outputs.

Notably, both players rank inside the division’s top ten left-backs for everything from shots on target to completed take-ons and big chances created.

Shaw can’t compete on those fronts, so much is going to rest on what exactly Tuchel wants from his options in that position.

If it is two like-for-like attack-minded left-backs then it is hard to look past O’Reilly and Hall being given the nod – but a desire for different profiles of player could open the door for Shaw.

It is perhaps a slim chance after he was omitted from England’s 35-man squad for their March internationals against Uruguay and Japan, but don’t rule out a surprise inclusion for the United defender on Friday.