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Cunha handed Brazil's number nine as 13 United players confirmed for World Cup

Matheus Cunha will wear Brazil's iconic number nine shirt at this summer's World Cup, a jersey famously associated with Ronaldo. The 27-year-old is one of 13 Manchester United players heading to the tournament.

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Cunha handed Brazil's number nine as 13 United players confirmed for World Cup
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Matheus Cunha will carry Brazil’s iconic number nine shirt at this summer’s World Cup, donning the jersey most famously associated with Ronaldo as one of 13 Manchester United players confirmed for the tournament.

The 27-year-old forward’s allocation is the headline number among United’s contingent, but several other familiar digits feature across the squad lists. Casemiro, Cunha’s Brazil team-mate, has been handed the number five shirt — a number also worn by both Diogo Dalot (Portugal) and Manuel Ugarte (Uruguay). Bruno Fernandes will carry the number eight for Portugal, mirroring his Old Trafford shirt, while late Scotland call-up Tyler Fletcher has also been assigned that number.

In goal, Senne Lammens and Altay Bayindir have each been given the number 12 jersey for Belgium and Türkiye respectively. Out wide, Amad takes the number 15 shirt for Ivory Coast, and Noussair Mazraoui will wear number three for Morocco.

England head coach Thomas Tuchel has handed Marcus Rashford the number 11 shirt, while Kobbie Mainoo will wear 16 for the Three Lions. Lisandro Martínez, travelling to the United States with Argentina, will line up in the number six.

Notably absent from the tournament are Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Joshua Zirkzee, and Mason Mount, all of whom will have a full pre-season under manager Barry Carrick.

The World Cup window is also expected to shape United’s transfer business. Atalanta midfielder Ederson is reported to be close to joining, with Elliot Anderson, Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, and Aurélien Tchouaméni also identified as targets as the club look to reshape their midfield following Casemiro’s expected departure. The fact that Ederson, Fernandes, and Tonali are not involved in the tournament could allow those deals to progress more quickly.

Rashford and Ugarte are both expected to leave United permanently this summer. Pre-season fixtures are anticipated to begin in mid-August, approximately one month after the final in New York.

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