Manchester United players have had a raw deal from England managers at times over the years.
Here is a look at six times top Red Devils stars have been wrongly overlooked by Three Lions bosses.
Kobbie Mainoo
The most recent victim of a ridiculous decision, Kobbie Mainoo was completely ignored by England boss Thomas Tuchel at the World Cup.
Mainoo’s United teammates Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were omitted from the tournament entirely. Mainoo probably wishes he could have had a rest too.
Tuchel did not select Mainoo for a single minute, despite needing a player who could get on the ball in midfield.
After England’s elimination, Tuchel bemoaned England players lacking the DNA to control possession, despite ignoring Mainoo totally.
Let us hear your thoughts on Thomas Tuchel’s treatment of Kobbie Mainoo
Michael Carrick
Kobbie Mainoo’s current Manchester United manager Michael Carrick will know exactly how he feels.
Michael Carrick played for England 34 times, a ridiculously low figure considering the length and success of his career.
Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello preferred the mismatched duo of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, who proved time and time again they could not play together.
Carrick was a played with all the tools to make England a better team in possession, and forge a midfield partnership with one of those players. No coach ever committed to the idea.
Of his 34 caps, Carrick only played one game at a major tournament for England, a 1-0 win over Ecuador in 2006. He featured for 90 minutes, and was never selected for a truly meaningful game again.
Paul Scholes
The real partner Michael Carrick should have had for England was Paul Scholes, but the Manchester United maestro retired from international football in 2004.
Scholes cited family reasons and a desire to concentrate on his club career, but the reality was that he was simply fed up with being misused.
Sven-Goran Eriksson decided to utilise Scholes as a left-sided midfielder so he could shoe-horn in other players to his team. It meant England rarely saw the best of him.
Scholes’ best performance under Eriksson came in England’s win over Argentina in 2002, where an injury forced Eriksson to use the United man in central midfield.
Andy Cole
Andy Cole was one of the Premier League’s most prolific strikers in the 1990s, scoring goals for fun for both Newcastle and then Manchester United.
Despite this, Cole was largely overlooked by successive England managers. In total Cole received 15 caps and was never taken to an international tournament.
No England manager really committed to using Cole, and Hoddle publicly blasted him for in his opinion, needing too many chances to score.
Cole’s club record of 289 goals suggested otherwise. Perhaps England’s loss was simply United’s gain.
What is the WORST substitution you have ever seen a Manchester United manager make?
Steve Bruce
It is bemusing that Steve Bruce was never selected by England once, despite being arguably the best English centre-back of his era.
Bruce’s performances for Manchester United were impactful at both ends of the pitch, a centre-back willing to put his body on the line in every challenge.
England ignored Bruce and paid the price by failing to qualify for the 1994 World Cup.
Bruce had the opportunity to play for Ireland at the tournament – before Sir Alex Ferguson blocked it.
Which Man Utd player had the WORST treatment by an England manager?
Are there any other names you would include on this list?
Gary Pallister
Gary Pallister did fare a little better than Bruce, earning 22 international caps for England in total. But when it counted, he was not used.
Pallister did not play a single game for England at Euro 92, where the Three Lions finished bottom of their group without winning a match.
And despite leading United to win the Double Double in 1995/96, Pallister was not selected for the Euro 96 squad at all.
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