Manchester United Will Have A Player In The World Cup Final

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Manchester United will have at least one player represing the club in the World Cup final on Sunday. Argentina defeated Croatia 3-0 in the first semifinal match in Qatar, as they brushed them aside with the generous help of Lionel Messi. This means Lisandro Martinez will be part of the final match against France or Morocco, although it is yet to be seen whether Man United fans will get the chance to actually see him in action. Argentina got their revenge against Croatia, after that famous 3-0 loss in Russia four years ago. Now, everything started with Lionel Messi’s thunderous penalty which gave Alibeceleste their lead, before Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez scored a brace. His second goal was assisted by Messi as well.

Our own Lisandro Martinez did get the chance to play, as he entered the pitch after 62 minutes, replacing midfielder Leandro Paredes. Man United centre-back was once again kept on bench, with head coach Lionel Scaloni choosing to start with the centre-back partnership of Otamendi and Romero. In the final, Martinez might not start once again, with Otamendi and Romero doing a good job against this Croatia side. Whether he will be the only United player in the final, remains to be seen, as France are set to face Morocco on Wednesday night. Raphael Varane is expected to be in the starting lineup as the world champions are looking to make it their second consecutive final. Obviously, they also hope they will retain their title, which has not happened at World Cups since 1962 and Pele’s Brazil.

This Argentina win means United could get a World Cup winner once again. Four years ago, Paul Pogba was part of the France’s winning squad, becoming the ninth member of Manchester United who managed to lift the greatest trophy of them all. While we wait to see whether Lisandro Martinez’s rival in the final will be his centre-back partner Raphael Varane – and whether by that United will be guaranteed to have a World Cup winner – let’s have a look at those who came before and managed to lift the trophy.

It all started back in 1966, with England’s only World Cup win. The Three Lions had three Man United players in the winning squad – Sir Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and John Connelly. Charlton was the one who scored both goals against Portugal in the semi-final, while Stiles played every single minute of the tournament.

United then had to wait 32 years, all the way to France’s first ever victory, on their home turf. Fabien Barthez and Laurent Blanc were part of that legendary squad, as they were Man United players at the time. Blanc was crucial part of that squad, but he missed the final through suspension. Among the players who had won the World Cup, but were not Man United players at the time of winning it, there were also Kleberson, Gerard Pique and Juan Mata. Kleberson arrived at Man United a year after Brazil won the tournament in 2003. Pique and Mata were part of the Spain winning squad in 2010, but Pique had already left for Barcelona in 2008, while Juan Mata did not arrive at Old Trafford until 2014.

Let’s see what will happen in Qatar…

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