The World Cup in Qatar has begun on Sunday evening, with the hosts facing off against Ecuador in the opening match of the tournament. This was the only day during the group stages that features only one match, which means from now on we will enjoy only the festive days of football, watching games from the morning all the way until the night. And already, the first such day has brought us some great news. Because this Monday was a really great day for Manchester United players at the World Cup.
England Destroy Iran, All Man United Players Shine
The day kicked off with England’s match against Iran and things could not have gotten any better for the Gareth Southgate’s side, but also, Man United players had their say in this victory. England defeated Iran comfortably 6-2, scoring half a dozen goals from seven shots which went on target.
Man United stars in this match were Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford. The left-back assisted England’s World Cup opener for Jude Bellingham after 35 minutes, showing just how valuable and reliable he is for the national team, reminiscing of his performances at the great run at last year’s Euros. Then the second goal for England was also an assist by a Man United player, with Maguire putting the ball down with his heather, following a corner kick, onto which Bukayo Saka followed with a precise finish to make it 2-0. With Sterling and Saka again scoring to make it 4-0, it was Mehdi Taremi who pulled one back for Iran.
But then came Marcus Rashford’s World Cup debut goal, 71 minutes into the match, but more importantly, 49 seconds into his performance. As soon as Rashford replaced Saka, he was there to score the goal, following Harry Kane’s assist. In the final minutes, Grealish also scored, before Taremi’s penalty made it 6-2 for England.
No Malacia In The Netherlands’ Win
In the second match of the day, there was the chance for us to see Tyrell Malacia feature for the Netherlands, in their 2-0 win over champions of Africa, Senegal. But former Man United manager Louis van Gaal did not bring the left back into play at any point of the match, with Malacia sitting out the full 90 minutes, still waiting for his World Cup debut. Interestingly, it was Daley Blind who started as the left wingback in the position which Malacia could have occupied. Another former Man United man featured, as Memphis Depay came on after 62 minutes, to replace Vincent Janssen. Ultimately, it was the late goals that sealed the game – last summer’s Man United target Cody Gakpo scored the opener, before Davy Klaassen slotted the second in the 99th minute.
In the final match of the day, USA drew 1-1 against Wales. Former Man United winger Dan James started up front, but was poor in the first 45 minutes he got to play, while Dylan Levitt sat out the entire match on the bench.
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