Joelinton, Thiaw, Wissa, Bruno, Woltemade international squad decisions positive for Newcastle United? | OneFootball

Newcastle United players have been getting their international call ups for the November fixtures.

Or rather, some Newcastle United players have been getting the nod, whilst others not included when their national team bosses have named their squads.

As always, it is mixed feelings when these call-ups happen.

Your priority is Newcastle United and you would love to rest and wrap your players in cotton wool so they are hopefully in the best possible condition for club football.

However, reality is that if you want to attract the very best players, then having your top players so often turning out for their countries comes with the territory.

So where are we at with November international call-ups for Newcastle United players?

When Ancelotti named his latest Brazil squad, Bruno Guimaraes included but Joelinton not. I am sure Joelinton was gutted by this but I think from a selfish NUFC point of view this was good news. For me, it is a delicate balance these days for Eddie Howe getting the best out of Joelinton, how much he plays him and so on. The added travel, training and paying demands of international football are a negative for me with how Joelinton is now. He was excellent in midweek against Bilbao and hopefully can do the same against Brentford before a couple of weeks of no matches. When Joelinton came back from the October internationals he was really poor the first game back and subbed off at half-time at Brighton. As for Bruno, he is usually a machine when it comes to coping with loads of matches and he so loves playing for Brazil, so I don’t see it as big negative that as usual he has been called up.

Thankfully we haven’t faced any big issue with Yoane Wissa and DR Congo. If they had insisted on calling him up for their huge World Cup qualifying play-offs this month, it would have been a nightmare as Eddie Howe tries to patiently get the striker ready. Obvious we don’t know what conversation took place but end result is thankfully Wissa wasn’t called up this month.

The outstanding Malick Thiaw has had his brilliant form for Newcastle United recognised by Julian Nagelsmann. This comes in the aftermath of yet another excellent performance by the former AC Milan player, as United beat Athletic Bilbao in the Champions League. Julian Nagelsmann naming his Germany squad for the vital November 2025 World Cup qualifiers. Malick Thiaw joining Nick Woltemade in the squad, with the defender returning to the national set up after a long absence. Julian Nagelsmann explaining; “Malick Thiaw is a regular started in the Premier League and has become a key player for his side ever since his move to England.” Great to see this with Thiaw, further enhancing Eddie Howe’s and Newcastle’s reputation when it comes to attracting potential new signings. Nick Woltemade could do with a bit of downtime but with these next two games set to decide whether or not Germany automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup finals, there is no chance of that.

The latest Netherlands squad has been revealed on Friday and Sven Botman still not getting a chance. Amazing that he has never previously made a Dutch squad but at the moment I think best for him to be concentrating on club football. Botman has made a great start to the season and if keeping that Newcastle United form going and staying fit, it surely is only a question of time before Sven gets into the Netherlands squad.

Thomas Tuchel named his England squad this Friday morning. As expected it included Dan Burn, though also great to see Nick Pope recalled. The NUFC keeper has been in great form overall for Newcastle and with eight clean sheets already this season, has earned this place back in the national set-up. Anthony Gordon also making this England squad, although the winger had to be subbed off on Wednesday night when feeling his hip. At his pre-Brentford press conference, Eddie Howe this morning said that the club didn’t think the hip issue was serious but were awaiting scan results just to double check, though Gordon a doubt for Sunday. Howe adding that if Anthony Gordon does still link up with England, he is confident they will look after the NUFC player. England have already qualified for the World Cup finals, so these last two group matches see Thomas Tuchel able to be more relaxed with his team selections, especially in terms of looking after players who may be carrying knocks etc.