After losing their places in the Manchester United side at the start of the season, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw - albeit slightly less so - were under pressure to get back into Erik ten Hag's team as the World Cup in Qatar quickly approached.
While both players were unlikely to miss out on a place in Gareth Southgate's squad for the mid-season tournament, there were calls for Maguire, in particular, to be left out given that he was not featuring regularly for the Reds. For Shaw, meanwhile, he was able to win his place back after losing it to summer addition Tyrell Malacia and quickly reasserted himself as the club's first-choice left-back.
Maguire had made just nine appearances in all competitions for United when he was included in the Three Lions squad for the World Cup, while Shaw had featured on 15 occasions. Given that the England manager has consistently backed the Reds captain, his inclusion didn't come as a surprise, but he, and Shaw, still had to prove that they warranted a place on the plane.
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In September, Southgate defended his decision to pick Maguire and Shaw for that respective international break, despite the pair struggling with United at the time. The defensive duo had both been dislodged by summer signings Lisandro Martinez and Malacia, despite starting the first two Premier League games of the season.
Despite their struggles at club level at that point in the season, they were both trusted by Southgate during the aforementioned international break - and ever since. During that international break, Maguire played the entire 90 minutes against both Italy and Germany, while Shaw scored against Germany and came on against the Italians in Milan.
During his post-match press conference, Southgate said: "Everyone will focus on Harry [and his mistake], but over the two matches there were some very important moments that Harry delivered. Luke there was another example of someone who is an outstanding footballer.
"What do we do? Not pick Luke Shaw because he's not playing enough football, or do we pick a player who can do what you saw there on Monday night?
"It's always going to raise debate but, in these moments, we have got to back our best, most experienced players, unless we are in a situation where it's almost untenable or impossible to pick them."
Now, fast forward three months, the pair both started all four matches for England at the World Cup in Qatar. Maguire's solid partnership with Manchester City man John Stones has continued since the Euros last summer, while Shaw registered an assist in the Three Lions' 6-2 victory in the tournament opener.
Regardless of how he performs in the tournament, Maguire is unlikely to start for United when he does eventually return to Carrington, but his strong showings for his country, while repaying the faith put in him by Southgate, also serve as a reminder to Ten Hag that he can play a part for the remainder of the domestic season.
For Shaw, a strong World Cup campaign could also go a long way in him retaining his position in the starting line-up at United, especially given the lack of minutes Malacia has seen at the World Cup so far under ex-United boss Louis van Gaal.
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