SAINTS will have a maximum of five players competing at the World Cup in Russia next month.

Cedric Soares, Maya Yoshida and Dusan Tadic will all be travelling with their respective countries, while Jan Bednarek and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are battling to make final squads for Poland and Denmark respectively.

Right-back Cedric has been confirmed in Portugal’s final 23-man squad as they prepare for their first major tournament after winning the European Championships in 2016.

Fernando Santos’ side have a tough group, coming up against neighbours and 2010 winners Spain, Morocco, one of the best African nations at the tournament who have travelled without Saints man Sofiane Boufal, and Iran in Group B.

Yoshida is a definite for Japan and he is with the squad now at a pre-tournament training camp near Tokyo.

The Blue Samurai find themselves in what is expected to be one of the most hotly-contested groups, which includes Colombia, Poland and Senegal.

Japan are working under new manager Akira Nishino, who took over in April from Vahid Halilhodzic after the Japanese Football Association decided the Bosnian had lost the trust of the players.

Speaking on the phone to the Daily Echo, Yoshida said: “We have a new manager and everyone is enjoying it. Some guys are still playing and will join a couple of days later, so it’s just conditioning training so far.

He added: “It’s time to start to think of the national team instead of Southampton, especially after the difficult season we had.”

The 29-year-old centre-back may face-off against fellow St Mary’s defender Jan Bednarek, if the 22-year-old makes the final cut for Poland.

Bednarek impressed for Saints as the season came to an end, doing enough to earn a call-up to the provisional Poland squad for Russia. He’ll now hope to be involved when the team is whittled down to 23.

It’s a similar situation for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with Denmark.

After standing out for Saints in a difficult campaign, the hard-working midfielder was recalled to the Denmark squad for the first time since November 2016.

The 22-year-old will want to impress to make it from the provisional squad to the final selection and go to the World Cup, where the Danes face Austrialia, France and Peru in Group C.

Meanwhile, Serbia have yet to announce their roster for the competition but it would very unlikely Tadic would be overlooked.

The 29-year-old finished the season as Saints’ most productive player, with seven goals and four assists.

He is also a mainstay in the Serbia team and will be heading to Russia, where the Serbs play Brazil, Costa Rica and Switzerland in Group E.

The tournament starts on June 14.