Ayden Heaven is believed to have made a big decision regarding his international future.
The 19-year-old Manchester United centre-back made headlines on Boxing Day when he was named Man of the Match in a 1-0 win over Newcastle.
That game saw Heaven make his fifth consecutive Premier League start for United and manager Ruben Amorim said afterwards: “I am really pleased with Ayden. You can feel that he is improving every game.
“He is young, but you can feel that he has a good game, slows the thinking and improves during the game. He trained really well and, if he continues to play like that, it is going to be really hard to take his place.”
Ayden Heaven tipped for England future
Heaven’s fine form of late has led to speculation about whether he might be a future England star. The former Arsenal defender, who only joined United in February, was born in London and has represented England at U18, U19 and U20 levels.
It seems unlikely that he will be fast-tracked into Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions setup in time for the 2026 World Cup, although not impossible if he continues to shine between now and the end of the season.
Ayden Heaven also eligible for Ghana
However, there is another way Heaven could feature at next summer’s World Cup in North America. That is because he is eligible through one of his grandparents to play for Ghana.
Ghana — who are the third most successful team in Africa, based on the all-time AFCON league table — have been drawn alongside England in World Cup Group L.
Ayden Heaven expected to choose England over Ghana
The Ghana Football Association are known to admire Heaven and would be willing to consider offering him a call-up to a World Cup squad that would also likely include Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo and former Fulham youngster Jerome Opoku.
But it is understood that Heaven has made it clear that he intends to pursue an international career with England, even if it means missing the 2026 World Cup.
England are ranked 30 places above Ghana in the all-time World Cup league table. Ghana have only won five matches in World Cup history, while 1966 champions England have recorded 32 victories.
FootballBlog.co.uk recently ran a detailed 2026 World Cup simulation. The simulation resulted in England finishing third in the tournament, while Ghana were knocked out in the round of 32.
England will face Ghana at Foxborough’s Gillette Stadium on June 23. The match will kick off at 9pm UK time.
