I don't think Oscar is the type of player to hold himself back for the world cup. One thing that's very apparent to me about him, is that he has an incredibly strong work ethic, and players like that tend to approach every match with the same dedication. So I really can't see him being the type to spare himself only to be fresh for the world cup. But really, who knows. I think people underestimate how difficult it is for young players to perform consistently at a big club, where there's a lot of pressure to challenge for trophies. This is even more so in Oscar's case as he's transitioning from an entirely different football culture. Someone on here said this before, but just look around at the top clubs in Europe - there aren't many young players around Oscar's age who haven't had a drastic dip in performances. Pogba for example looks a shadow of the player he was in the beginning of the season. What some on here need to realize is that unlike other top clubs, two of our best offensive players are very young. We're more reliant on Hazard and Oscar than Bayern is with Gotze or Real Madrid with Isco. Even Juve has Marchisio to rotate with Pogba. So Hazard and Oscar have even more pressure and responsibility compared to other young players; it can't be easy to cope with and it's not as if our style of football is one that's conducive for attacking players to perform to their best. I didn't mind the Mata sale at the time (he wasn't being used anyway) but I'm beginning to think it was a mistake simply because he would have taken some of the pressure & responsibility off of Oscar's shoulders. But on the plus side, maybe this experience will be good for Oscar's development and I'm sure he'll improve next season.
