Carrick faces nine-man World Cup headache as United prepare for Premier League opener

Michael Carrick may be forced to start his first full Premier League season without several key players, with nine Manchester United internationals at risk of missing the club’s opening fixture on August 22 due to their involvement in the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The tournament, which got underway in North America last week, concludes with the final in New Jersey on July 19 — just over a month before the Premier League season begins. Although the August 22 start date was deliberately delayed to give World Cup participants additional recovery time, players who reach the latter stages of the competition are unlikely to be fully match-sharp when pre-season demands ramp up.

The timing is compounded by the fact that the World Cup followed almost immediately after the domestic campaign ended, meaning United’s internationals moved straight from club football into national team training camps without a meaningful break.

Carrick, appointed on a permanent basis after steering United to a third-place Premier League finish and a return to the Champions League following his interim appointment in January — when he replaced the departed Ruben Amorim — now faces a potential selection crisis before a ball has been kicked in the new season.

The nine United players at the tournament are spread across eight nations, but the most disruptive scenario for Carrick would be a final involving England and Portugal. Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot are in the Portugal squad, while Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford are representing England — meaning four United players could be involved in the showpiece on July 19.

The full list of United players at World Cup 2026 reads: Matheus Cunha (Brazil), Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes (Portugal), Amad (Ivory Coast), Senne Lammens (Belgium), Kobbie Mainoo and Marcus Rashford (England), Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco), and Lisandro Martinez (Argentina).

With several of those nations among the favourites to progress deep into the knockout rounds, Carrick may have little choice but to ease his biggest names back gradually — or start the campaign without them entirely.