Richards and Lineker in complete agreement that ‘top’ Man United star gets far too much ‘stick’

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·19 November 2025

Richards and Lineker in complete agreement that ‘top’ Man United star gets far too much ‘stick’

Gary Lineker has singled out Luke Shaw for praise after the defender was once again overlooked by Thomas Tuchel for the last England camp

Manchester United’s English players (Shaw, Harry Maguire, Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo) are navigating an uncertain period at international level, whereby none are seemingly doing enough in Tuchel’s eyes to warrant being called up since he took the reins.

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Ruben Amorim certainly won’t mind, given some of his most key men are able to stay put at Carrington and get some respite between matches, but there’s no doubt it’ll be starting to impact the likes of Shaw and Maguire, both of whom used to be two of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s teamsheets.

Luke Shaw awaiting return to England setup

(Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Shaw’s last appearances for the Three Lions came at Euro 2024, where he travelled to the tournament despite being injured and returned to fitness in time to play the quarter-final, semi and the final – a 2-0 defeat to Spain.

He proceeded to miss the majority of 2024/2025 with a handful of separate issues, which limited him to just 12 appearances in all competitions.

Now, without wanting to tempt fate, the full-back, 30, has been able to keep himself fit and available since the season got underway, starting all 11 of United’s Premier League matches played thus far.

The fact that the side have only one game a week to account for this term will be working in Shaw’s favour, given he’s usually plagued by unrelenting injury woes year on year.

Pundits rally for Shaw to be given a chance at the World Cup

(Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Whether he will do enough from now until the end of the campaign to move up in Tuchel’s estimations remains to be seen, but The Rest Is Football panel think he should be in with at least a chance.

“Don’t forget Luke Shaw,” said Lineker when assessing the national team’s options for the 2026 World Cup. “A bit of experience. He can play on the left side of a three, should Tuchel decide to do that, which I suspect he won’t. But he’s come back, [is] playing really well at Man United. He’s a good player. Luke’s a good player.”

Micah Richards echoed the sentiment, adding: “He’s a top player. You know, I know he gets a lot of stick, but he’s a really good player.”