Which 14 Reds are on international duty?

Friday 31 May 2024 14:18

The football keeps coming for the Manchester United players selected to represent their countries in the upcoming international friendlies.

With Euro 2024 and Copa America just around the corner, the start of June heralds the warm-up fixtures for the major tournaments, and a number of Reds should be involved although, due to injury and participation in the Emirates FA Cup final win over Manchester City last weekend, there is still some doubt as to how much game time our players will receive in the friendlies.

England face Bosnia and Herzegovina in Newcastle on Monday, before entertaining Iceland at Wembley on Friday (7 June).

Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire are continuing to build their fitness, after missing the end of the domestic campaign, while Kobbie Mainoo's Man-of-the-Match exertions last Saturday may be taken into account when Gareth Southgate names his team for the St James' Park encounter.

"Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire had bad injuries at the end of the season with Manchester United, so they needed a little more work with our medical team," Southgate told England's official website.

"They're both hugely committed to trying to be fit for the tournament and they realise that every day is important. Now we get the chance to see exactly where they are and we get a much clearer picture."

As for Mainoo, who has emerged as a real wildcard entry for Euro 2024 with his superb form, the teenager is clearly held in high regard by Southgate.

"The curious thing about young talent is how will they cope under pressure," added the England boss. "You can see the technical ability but it's about how tactically aware they are, how mature, the ability to cope with big matches.

"When you're playing for Manchester United, you're always under the spotlight. He's shown that with them, with us in March. We've never been afraid to put young players in. If players are good enough, we're not so concerned about their age. Kobbie has had an amazing season and it was fabulous for him to finish the season with a goal and a trophy."

The most important games involving a Red before the tournaments begin are Sofyan Amrabat's World Cup qualifiers with Morocco. The on-loan midfielder is set to feature against Zambia in Agadir and away to DR Congo as the North African nation strive to reach the 2026 finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

There is the prospect of our players going head-to-head with their team-mates when the all-Scandinavian encounter between Denmark and Sweden in Copenhagen may include Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund for the hosts and Victor Lindelof for the visitors.

Portugal, who named both Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes in their squad, have three friendlies pencilled in - against Finland, Croatia and Republic of Ireland.

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Jonny Evans is back in the Northern Ireland fold, selected alongside his brother Corry, and another former Red in Ethan Galbraith, who has been recalled after a fine campaign for Leyton Orient.

Argentina are in action in the United States, facing Ecaudor in Chicago and Guatemala in Washington, as they build up for the Copa America. Lisandro Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho, two of our many FA Cup heroes, will be looking to make a big impact for the World Cup holders.

Altay Bayindir (Turkey) and Scott McTominay (Scotland) are with their countries for warm-up games before competing at Euro 2024.

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INTERNATIONAL FIXTURES 

MONDAY 3 JUNE

ENGLAND v Bosnia and Herzegovina (Maguire, Shaw, Mainoo)
Gibraltar v SCOTLAND (McTominay)

TUESDAY 4 JUNE

Italy v TURKEY (Bayindir)
PORTUGAL v Finland (Dalot, Fernandes)

WEDNESDAY 5 JUNE

DENMARK v SWEDEN (Eriksen, Hojlund / Lindelof) 

FRIDAY 7 JUNE

ENGLAND v Iceland (Maguire, Shaw, Mainoo)
MOROCCO v Zambia (Amrabat)
SCOTLAND v Finland (McTominay)

SATURDAY 8 JUNE

DENMARK v Norway (Eriksen, Hojlund)
PORTUGAL v Croatia (Dalot, Fernandes)
Spain v NORTHERN IRELAND (Evans)
SWEDEN v Serbia (Lindelof)

SUNDAY 9 JUNE

ARGENTINA v Ecuador (N) (Martinez, Garnacho)

MONDAY 10 JUNE

Poland v TURKEY (Bayindir)

TUESDAY 11 JUNE

Andorra v NORTHERN IRELAND (N) (Evans)
Congo v MOROCCO (Amrabat)
PORTUGAL v Republic of Ireland (Dalot, Fernandes)

FRIDAY 14 JUNE

ARGENTINA v Guatemala (N) (Martinez, Garnacho)

(N) = Neutral venue.

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