Surajit Das
International week in review: How Manchester United players fared for their countries
A handful of Manchester United players took part in the world cup qualifying games during the international break. Harry Maguire played a vital role in their team’s progression to the next stage, but most of his United compatriots faced setbacks with their countries.
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire scored the opening goal against San Marino in the thrashing 10-0 win and helped the team win the ticket for the World Cup 2022 at Qatar. It was the second goal for the 28-year-old in three days. He now has overtaken Jack Charlton (6) and John Terry (6) to become the highest-scoring defender (7) in Three Lion’s history.
Diogo Dalot, Bruno Fernandes and Cristiano Ronaldo were all involved in Portugal’s World Cup Qualifying games. At first, Portugal shared a point in a goalless draw against Ireland. After the draw, they only needed to keep a draw against Serbia to qualify. But, the A Seleção lost to Serbia and was pushed down to playoffs.
Cristiano Ronaldo featured in both games for Portugal in the international break. Ronaldo got the chance to open the scoring in the 16th minute, but Séamus Coleman blocked his shot. He missed the opportunity to put the goal in the net with a header from André Silva. He got some half-chances afterwards but couldn’t convert them to goal.
In the second game, he got some decent chances but failed to capitalize. His free-kick at the 13th minute headed over the goal. Other than that, there weren’t any clear cut chances. But on the big occasion, his performance was bland, and he couldn’t get the team past qualification.
Diogo Dalot featured in the first game against Ireland. Recently, he has been getting minutes and looked sharp in the first half with some excellent crosses. But his performance after the break dropped. Meanwhile, he was dropped in the game against Serbia.
Bruno Fernandes had a disappointing night against Ireland and couldn’t produce any breakthrough passes. Besides one good cross in the first half, he lacked creativity. He was substituted in the 70th minute after a poor display.
Bruno didn’t start the game against Serbia and came as a substitute late in the game. But couldn’t pull any tricks in the second game too.
Victor Lindelof had a disappointing game against Georgia. He made a horrible mistake leading to a Georgia goal. Sweden were 1-0 down when he tried to pass the ball out of defence, which a Georgia player intercepted, and they scored the second that Cost the Swiss team the top spot.
Despite the loss, Victor Lindelof had a great game against Spain. He did seven good clearances and won almost every ground duel, and he looked promising. But Sweden could not get past Spain, and now they have to battle out in the Playoffs for a spot in the world cup.
The red devil players had an eventful international break. Now, they would look to return to the Vicarage Road to take part in an away fixture against Watford this Saturday.
