Manchester United have been on international break now and we are approaching the end of the first of the two weeks without Premier League action. Many of our players have gone to different parts of the world to represent their countries and some matches have already been played.
We had six national teams with Man United players featuring already and here we are taking a look at how the Red Devils fared or did not fare in those games.
Portugal Draw In Dublin
Manchester United have hard three players for Portugal in the starting lineup against Republic of Ireland, but they failed to beat them. The game in Dublin ended 0-0, with both Cristiano Ronaldo and Diogo Dalot playing full 90 minutes. Bruno Fernandes, however, took part for 75 minutes, before Renato Sanches replaced him. Funnily enough, all three United players played on the left flank, but Portugal failed to score. They will now have to either win or get a draw against Serbia in order to qualify for the World Cup.
Lindelof And Sweden Shockingly Lose
Victor Lindelof captained Sweden in Georgia, but this was probably one of his worst matches for the national team. Georgia shocked Sweden 2-0 in Tbilisi, getting a win that will make it very hard for the Swedes to qualify. They had to beat Georgia and then get at least a draw against Spain in the final match, but now they will have to beat them. Lindelof played full 90 minutes in a disappointing performance.
Spain Win Without De Gea
The reason why Sweden will have to beat Spain is because the Spaniards won 1-0 in Greece. They did so thanks to Pablo Sarabia’s goal from the spot. David de Gea was once again on the bench, with Unai Simon being the preffered choice.
Brazil And Fred Qualify
Brazil are the first team from South America to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. That is not a surprise whatsoever, as Brazil defeated Colombia 1-0, in what was their 11th win in their 12th match in these qualifiers. Lucas Paqueta scored the winning goal, while Man United’s Fred played for the first 45 minutes, getting a yellow card in the process.
Maguire Scores In England’s Albania Thrashing
England are another team inching closer to World Cup qualification, following their superb 5-0 win against Albania at Wembley. This was a great match for the entire team, but also for Harry Maguire. Man United captain scored the opener following a set-piece, giving England the lead, after which Harry Kane managed to score a hat-trick. Maguire was the only Man United player in the England team. Now, England will only have to get a draw against San Marino away from home in the final game, in order to be certain ahead of Poland. But those chances for the Poles are only theoretical.
Scotland Reach Play-Offs Without McTominay
And finally Scotland. The Scots defeated Moldova 2-0 away from home, securing their spot in the play-offs behind the already qualified Denmark. Scott McTominay was absent from this match, as Nathan Patterson and Che Adams scored in first and second half respectively. Scotland will now have to get two wins in the World Cup play-offs in March 2022 in order to reach the finals.
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