Now that the regular Championship season has finished, for some the focus will shift to the World Cup. While English football's second tier can feel like an unfashionable grind at times, the division will have quite a few representative on the sport's grandest stage in Russia this summer. Here are five interesting examples of the many set to take part.
Ruben Neves
Since Wolverhampton Wanderers’ promotion to the Premier League was confirmed, Ruben Neves has already been heavily linked with a move to Liverpool. He might have missed out to Ryan Sessegnon for the Championship Player of the Year award but the Portuguese playmaker has more than proved his quality and scored some spectacular long-range goals. After making his debut for the national team back in 2015, the latest of his five caps came in March’s 2-1 win over Egypt.
Bryan Oviedo
Bottom of the table for so much of the season, a miserable second successive relegation for Sunderland was rubberstamped two weeks ago. Bryan Oviedo has been part of both, having joined the club from Everton in January 2017. The Costa Rican can play anywhere along the left flank and will at least have his first World Cup to look forward to this summer, having missed out four years ago through injury.
Aron Gunnarsson
A rugged and hardworking centre midfielder, Aron Gunnarsson has made more than 250 appearances for Cardiff City during his seven years at the club. A 0-0 draw with Reading on the final day of the season was enough to see Neil Warnock’s side over the line in second place as Fulham slipped up at Birmingham City. The long-throw specialist has 77 caps for Iceland and will captain his country at their first ever World Cup.
Jackson Irvine
Australia should take a few players to Russia who currently ply their trade in the Championship. Mile Jedinak and Tim Cahill are veterans of previous tournaments, while Massimo Luongo and Bailey Wright travelled to Brazil in 2014 but failed to make it onto the pitch during a group stage exit. Hull City’s Jackson Irvine will be confident of a place in Bert van Marwijk’s squad having featured regularly over the last two years but Millwall’s James Meredith remains on the fringes.
Cheikh N’Doye
An imposing figure, Cheikh N’Doye arrived in England with a reputation as one of Ligue Un’s best-performing midfielders over the past couple of years. As captain of Angers he’d helped guide the minnows to safety in consecutive top flight seasons. His arrival at Birmingham City was considered a coup but he has played infrequently and often looked off the pace. He remains a stalwart of the Senegal team regardless and will hope to have a better impact at the World Cup.
