Marcus Rashford scores for England against Bulgaria.

International break: how our players performed

Wednesday 16 October 2019 14:41

Many of Manchester United’s first-team players are set to return to the Aon Training Complex following their international exploits over the past week.

Eight senior Reds were called up by their respective nations over the recent break and they enjoyed varying degrees of success.

Here’s our round-up of how United's players fared during the latest round of international fixtures…

ARGENTINA

Marcos Rojo played 45 minutes in Argentina’s 2-2 draw with Germany and was replaced at half-time during the friendly game in Dortmund. The defender was also an unused substitute during La Albiceleste’s 6-1 victory over South American rivals Ecuador in the Spanish city of Elche on Sunday.
ENGLAND

The Three Lions had a trio of United representatives in their latest squad: on-loan keeper Dean Henderson joined Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford in what was his first call-up to the senior side. Maguire was the only starter in last week’s disappointing defeat to Czech Republic, while Marcus Rashford was introduced as a second-half substitute in the game. However, the latter was selected from the off in Monday’s emphatic 6-0 victory over Bulgaria and opened the scoring with a sublime finish in the seventh minute. Maguire also started in the Euro 2020 qualifier and gave a typically commanding performance as Gareth Southgate’s men emerged with a clean sheet and all three points. England could guarantee their qualification to next summer’s tournament with a draw in the next game, at home to Montenegro, in November.
SCOTLAND

United midfielder Scott McTominay was suspended for his country’s first match of the latest international break and without him they fell to a 4-0 defeat to Russia on Thursday. However, the Reds' no.39 returned to the side for the following game: a 6-0 mauling of San Marino at Hampden Park. McTominay gave an excellent performance from central midfield and played the full 90 minutes as Scotland secured their third win in Group I. However, Steve Clarke’s men cannot qualify automatically for Euro 2020 via the group stage, with Belgium and Russia already guaranteeing those spots.

SPAIN

David De Gea played a starring role in Spain’s 1-1 draw with Sweden on Tuesday night, before being taken off due to injury in the second half. Our no.1 produced several good saves for the Spanish in Stockholm, the highlight of which was an acrobatic dive to stop Robin Quaison’s bullet header. However, David had to be withdrawn on the hour-mark after suffering a leg injury and was replaced by Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga, who played 90 minutes in the previous match when Spain were held by Norway. The result in Sweden confirms the former world champions’ place at next summer’s finals.
SWEDEN

Also in action at the Friends Arena was defender Victor Lindelof. The centre-back missed the Swedes’ first game of the international break - a 4-0 victory over Malta - but returned for the clash with Spain on Tuesday. Lindelof put in a great performance for Sweden and marshalled a backline that kept Robert Moreno’s men out until the 90th minute, when Rodrigo netted a decisive equaliser. The draw means Sweden remain second in Group F and can qualify for Euro 2020 with a win over third-placed Romania in their next game.

WALES

Ryan Giggs’s Wales team drew both of the two qualifying games they contested during the break, with United winger Daniel James playing 90 minutes in each. The attacker provided the assist for Kieffer Moore’s goal in the 1-1 draw in Slovakia on Thursday and also performed well three days later in Wales’s impressive draw against 2018 World Cup finalists Croatia. Those results leave the Dragons fourth in Group F, but they can still qualify automatically for Euro 2020, as long as they beat Azerbaijan and Hungary in November and Slovakia don't pick up maximum points from their remaining two matches.

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