Daniel James training with Wales.

Internationals: Which Reds are in action?

Monday 02 September 2019 14:12

The first international break of the 2019/20 season has arrived and 13 members of the Manchester United first-team squad could be in action for their countries over the coming week.

David De Gea, Victor Lindelof and Nemanja Matic will be among those looking to boost their respective nations’ chances of qualifying for Euro 2020, while three of our young players have been called up to represent their respective age groups.

Here’s a quick round-up of which Reds have been called up and when they're playing over the next week...

ARGENTINA
Lionel Scaloni’s side are in action for the first time since losing to Brazil in the semi-final of the Copa America, with friendlies in the United States against Chile and Mexico on 6 and 10 September respectively. Marcos Rojo, who has won 59 caps and scored three goals for La Albiceleste, is one of the more experienced members of a youthful-looking squad shorn of injured superstar Lionel Messi, as the two-time world champions prepare for the start of their Qatar 2022 qualifying campaign next March.

Rojo scored for Argentina against Nigeria at both the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups.

ENGLAND
Harry Maguire, Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford, who all featured in June’s UEFA Nations League campaign, have been called up to the Three Lions’ 24-man squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and Kosovo at St Mary’s Stadium three days later. England are aiming to maintain their 100 per cent start in Group A after thumping victories over Czech Republic and Montenegro. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was in line to make his international debut but has withdrawn due to injury.

There could be two further Three Lions debuts for United players this week. Angel Gomes has moved up to the England Under-20s for the 2019/20 Under-20 Elite League games against the Netherlands and Switzerland on 5 and 9 September, while Mason Greenwood is the youngest member of the Under-21 squad selected to face Turkey and Kosovo in the qualifiers for the 2021 Euros.

NETHERLANDS
The Dutch, tournament winners in 2006 and 2007, have failed to qualify for each of the last three UEFA European Under-21 Championships, and will be aiming to put that right when they begin their 2021 qualifying campaign against Cyprus in Doetinchem on 10 September. Tahith Chong, who made his debut for the Jong Oranje in a defeat to Germany last November, could feature after once again being called up by coach Erwin van de Looi.

SCOTLAND
There’s a strong Premier League flavour to the squad Steve Clarke has selected for Scotland’s crunch fixtures against Russia and Belgium at Hampden Park on 6 and 9 September. Scott McTominay has made nine appearances for his country since he was first selected in 2018 and could start in midfield alongside Aston Villa’s John McGinn, as Scotland look to recover from the 3-0 defeats they suffered in Kazakhstan and Belgium last season. Former Reds Adnan Januzaj and Romelu Lukaku could be involved when Roberto Martinez’s side return to the ground where they won 4-0 12 months ago.

McTominay played the full 90 minutes in Scotland's 3-0 defeat in Brussels in June.

SERBIA
They haven’t played at the Euros since the break-up of Yugoslavia and, although they are already assured of at least a play-off spot through their Nations League performances, will be looking for an improvement on the four points they’ve managed from their three games in Group B so far. Serbia face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal – who have also had a stuttering start – in Belgrade on Saturday, before travelling to Lithuania three days later. Reds’ midfielder Matic will expect to start both games as he edges closer to the 50-cap mark for his country.

SPAIN
De Gea will be hoping Spain can build on their perfect start to Group F, as the Euro 2008 and 2012 winners travel to Romania on 5 September, before hosting the Faroe Islands in Gijon on Sunday. Robert Moreno’s side thrashed Victor Lindelof’s Sweden 3-0 in June and could take a huge step towards qualification with a further two victories. Other familiar faces in La Roja’s squad include De Gea’s rival for the number one spot, Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Manchester City’s new signing Rodri.

De Gea will be hoping to help Spain to a seventh consecutive appearances at the Euros.

SWEDEN
Lindelof missed out on the Scandinavians’ defeat to Spain at the end of last season, due to personal reasons, but is back in coach Janne Andersson’s thoughts for the upcoming games against the Faroe Islands and Norway on 5 and 8 September. Former United forward Joshua King is in the Norway squad for the latter; he scored in the reverse fixture, in Oslo, in a game which finished 3-3.

WALES
United legend Ryan Giggs has selected two current Reds in his squad for the vital home matches against Azerbaijan and Belarus. The Dragons have a relatively strong record in Cardiff, but defeats in Hungary and Croatia have left the Euro 2016 semi-finalists with little margin for error if they want to make it to the finals next summer. Daniel James, who has hit the ground running at Old Trafford since signing from Swansea City in June, has been selected once again, while Dylan Levitt could be in line to make his senior international debut after making an impressive start to the season with United’s Under-23s.

James scored his first Wales goal on his second cap for the Dragons, against Slovakia.

THE FIXTURES

Thursday 5 September
ENGLAND U20s v Netherlands U20s (19:00 BST) - Gomes, Williams
Faroe Islands v SWEDEN (19:45 BST) - Lindelof
Romania v SPAIN (19:45 BST) - De Gea

Friday 6 September
Chile v ARGENTINA (03:30 BST) - Rojo
SCOTLAND v Russia (19:45 BST) - McTominay
Turkey U21s v ENGLAND U21s (18:45 BST) - Greenwood
WALES v Azerbaijan (19:45 BST) - James, Levitt

Saturday 7 September
ENGLAND v Bulgaria (17:00 BST) - Lingard, Maguire, Rashford
SERBIA v Portugal (19:45 BST) - Matic

Sunday 8 September
SPAIN v Faroe Islands (19:45 BST) - De Gea
SWEDEN v Norway (19:45 BST) - Lindelof

Monday 9 September
ENGLAND U21s v Kosovo U21s (19:45 BST) - Greenwood
SCOTLAND v Belgium (19:45 BST) – McTominay
Switzerland U20s v ENGLAND U20s (16:00 BST) - Gomes
WALES v Belarus (19:45 BST) - James, Levitt

Tuesday 10 September
ENGLAND v Kosovo (19:45 BST) - Lingard, Maguire, Rashford
Lithuania v SERBIA (19:45 BST) - Matic
NETHERLANDS U21s v Cyprus (18:00 BST) - Chong

Wednesday 11 September
ARGENTINA
 v Mexico (03:00 BST) - Rojo

This article was amended after Aaron Wan-Bissaka withdrew from the England squad due to injury on Tuesday 3 September.

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