Reds on International Duty

By Suraj Shivshankar - September 09, 2019

Image Source: The Independent

The international break has been going on and the weekend went by without any Premier League football. Quite a few United players took part and represented their countries over the last few days. Mostly the games were the 2020 Euro qualifiers so teams played their strongest sides and the fact that multiple United players featured are a positive signing.

Let's take a look at how these United players featured over the last few days.

Spain

David De Gea did not start Spain's first game as Kepa Arrizabalaga was given the nod. Though he failed to keep a clean sheet, the 2 time Euros winner won the game 2-1.

David De Gea finally started over Kepa as they faced the Faroe Islands. De Gea kept a clean sheet in a 4-0 win and was fortunate enough to get the captain's armband after Sergio Ramos was subbed off towards the end. So all in all, a good outing for the United shot-stopper.

Sweden

The international break started with a bang for United centre-back, Victor Lindelof, scored when his side faced the Faroe Islands in a 4-0 win. He also played the full 90 mins.

Lindelof, played a whole 90mins for Sweden as they held Norway to a 1-1 draw. The game was a Group F game for the Euro 2020 qualifier. Sweden had to come from behind to equalize. Sweden are now second in the Group F with Spain sitting solidly on top.

Serbia

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for Nemanja Matic's Serbia as they lost to 4-2 to Portugal. Matic played the full 90 mins but his efforts weren't enough to beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal. Having lost at home, Serbia now have an uphill task in qualifying for the Euros. They're currently fourth in the table.

England

Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire featured for England and played the full 90 mins against Bulgaria in a 4-0 win. Though Rashford didn't make the scoresheet, he won the penalty that led to England's third goal, scored by Harry Kane. Rashford did get close a couple more times but couldn't finish his chances. Maguire did his job well and kept a clean sheet. England now have another game against Kosovo this week.
Jesse Lingard was sent back after missing training for a couple of days due to illness. It remains to be seen if he'll be ruled out of our fixture against Leicester this coming weekend.

Wales

Daniel James played the full 90 minutes against Azerbaijan as they won 2-1, thanks to Gareth Bale's sweet goal in the last five minutes. Though Daniel James didn't score, the United player of the month had a decent game. James then scored another stunner as Wales narrowly beat Azerbaijan on Monday.

Scotland

Scott McTominay played 78 minutes for his national side as they suffered a 2-1 loss to Russia. An Artem Dzyuba equalizer and an unfortunate own goal sunk the Scottish side. Scotland played against Belgium yesterday and McTominay played the full 90 as Scotland were blown away by a De Bruyne masterclass. McTominay came close to scoring from 30 yards out but was denied expertly by Courtois.

These were the active reds on duty this international break. Apart from Jesse Lingard, there haven't been any injury concerns which another positive. Let us hope the REd Devils have a good international break which as we need freshness when the Premier League restarts. Our form has been very poor and a good result this coming weekend will bring back some much-needed positivity and confidence. That's all for this time. We shall return once the other international games are over as well!