Paul Pogba

When are our international players in action?

Monday 18 March 2019 17:37

The final international break of the season has arrived, with a number of Reds selected to represent their countries around the world.

For the European nations, this international period marks the start of their qualifying campaigns for Euro 2020 but there are other fixtures taking place across the globe. Here is a list of players selected for their countries: 

BELGIUM: Romelu Lukaku missed United's Emirates FA Cup tie at Wolves with a foot injury, which looks set to rule him out of the games against Russia and Cyprus.

ECUADOR: United club captain, Antonio Valencia has been included in the squad for Ecuador’s friendly games against USA and Honduras, despite his recent injury lay-off, as they continue to prepare for this summer’s Copa America in Brazil.

Luke Shaw' has been forced out of the England squad due to injury.

ENGLAND: Marcus Rashford pulled out of the Three Lions squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers. England face Czech Republic at Wembley before travelling to Montenegro three days later. Luke Shaw was also withdrawn, after initially being selected.

FRANCE: World Champions France have included Paul Pogba in their squad as Les Bleus begin their quest for back-to-back major international titles. Didier Deschamps's men face Moldova and Iceland in their opening qualifiers. Anthony Martial was originally named, however he had to withdraw due to a knee problem.

IVORY COAST: The Elephants play Rwanda in their final Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match, for which Eric Bailly has been included in the squad. Going into the game, the Ivorians have already qualified for the main tournament that is to be played in Egypt this summer. Bailly and his team-mates will also be in action in a friendly against Liberia. 

SCOTLAND: After helping his nation get promoted in the UEFA Nations League, Scott McTominay is again part of the Scotland squad that will travel to Kazakhstan and San Marino for their opening Euro 2020 qualifying matches. The youngster has impressed after recently coming into the starting XI in tough games against Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.

Since March last year, Scott McTominay has made five appearances for Scotland.

SERBIA: Nemanja Matic had been selected to be the Serbian vice-captain for their upcoming games against Germany and Portugal, however his manager, Mladen Krstajic, has now ruled out the midfielder for both matches. 

"Matic will not play in Wolfsburg, nor in Lisbon," he said. "He played the last match in the club but did not stay in the field until the end."

SPAIN: Unsurprisingly David De Gea has been named in the Spain squad for their two ties. The former world champions host Norway at the Mestalla Stadium in Valencia before an away day to face Malta.

Injury forces Martial to return from France

 Article

Catch up on the news that Anthony and another United team-mate will not represent their countries in the break.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

THURSDAY 21 MARCH

Kazakhstan v SCOTLAND (Euro 2020 qualifier, kick-off 15:00 GMT) - McTominay
BELGIUM v Russia (Euro 2020 qualifier, kick-off 19:45 GMT) - Lukaku

FRIDAY 22 MARCH

USA v ECUADOR (Friendly, kick-off 00:00 GMT) - Valencia
Moldova v FRANCE (Euro 2020 qualifier, kick-off 19:45 GMT) - Pogba

SATURDAY 23 MARCH

IVORY COAST v Rwanda (AFCON qualifier, 17:00 GMT) - Bailly
SPAIN v Norway (Euro 2020 qualifier, 19:45 GMT) - De Gea

Serbia confirm Matic will not play

 Article

Head coach Mladen Krstajic has revealed that Nemanja will not feature against Germany or Portugal in the break.

SUNDAY 24 MARCH

San Marino v SCOTLAND (Euro 2020 qualifier, 19:45 GMT) - McTominay
Cyprus v BELGIUM (Euro 2020 qualifier, 19:45 GMT) - Lukaku

MONDAY 25 MARCH

FRANCE v Iceland (Euro 2020 qualifier, 19:45 GMT) - Pogba
Portugal v SERBIA (Euro 2020 qualifier, 19:45 GMT) - Matic

TUESDAY 26 MARCH

IVORY COAST v Liberia (Friendly, 17:00 GMT) - Bailly
Malta v SPAIN (Euro 2020 qualifier, 19:45 GMT) - De Gea

WEDNESDAY 27 MARCH

Honduras v ECUADOR (Friendly, 00:30 GMT) - Valencia

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