It has been barely three months since Manchester United defender Lisandro Martínez assisted his compatriot Lionel Messi in securing his legacy as the greatest football player that’s ever lived at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Both players were in imperious form throughout the showdown in the Arabian Gulf State as Argentina lifted the famous gold trophy for the first time in 36 years. Now, however, attention has turned to next summer’s European Championships in Germany. Oddschecker, which compares football odds and offers, has made France and the aforementioned host nation the joint favourites for glory at Euro 2024.
On March 23rd, the qualifiers for the grandest spectacle in European international football got underway, and there are already plenty of talking points. And some of the stars at Old Trafford were in and amongst the action. Outside of Europe, the aforementioned Martínez, as well as winger Antony both featured in friendlies for their nations, to differing results. The former Butcher of Amsterdam helped the reigning world champions to a modest 2-0 victory against Panama, while the latter played for 45 minutes as Brazil were stunned by Morocco, eventually succumbing to a 2-1 defeat.
Let’s see how United’s top stars got on for their countries in the recent European Qualifiers.
Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw Have a Shocker in Naples: Manchester United’s International Round-up
England suffered further penalty heartbreak at the World Cup, however this time it wasn’t in the dreaded shootout. Harry Kane’s late missed penalty against France in the quarterfinals ensured that it was Les Bleus that progressed to the final four at England’s expense. The Three Lions’ Euro 2024 qualifying campaign got off against the last team to give them penalty shootout trauma, Italy.
Gareth Southgate’s men headed to Naples in search of revenge for that Euro 2020 final defeat at Wembley, and in the first 45 minutes, it looked as though they were well on course. Declan Rice netted the opening goal before Harry Kane doubled the lead from the penalty spot. Jack Grealish should have made it three on the stroke of halftime however he inexplicably missed an open net; however, England still led comfortably at the interval. Then that second half got underway for England & Manchester United’s International Round-up
England couldn’t string two passes together throughout the second half, and two of Manchester United’s stars were at fault for much of what was wrong with England’s second-half performance. Harry Maguire gave the ball away far too easily, allowing Italy to pull one back shortly after the break through Mateo Retegui. Then Luke Shaw picked up two yellow cards in two minutes to receive his marching orders.
In the end, England managed to hold on for a 2-1 victory and their first success against the Italians on Italian soil since 1961. And Gareth Southgate’s men were much improved against Ukraine, with Maguire giving a much more assured display in a comfortable 2-0 victory.
Elsewhere in Europe: Manchester United’s International Round-up
There were plenty of other United stars in action across the continent. Scott McTominay scored twice in a 23-minute cameo against Cyprus to give Scotland a comfortable 3-0 victory. Wout Weghorst also played both games for the Netherlands however, their results couldn’t have been more disappointing. The Dutch were thumped 4-0 in Paris by World Cup runners-up France, before only managing a 3-0 victory against lowly Gibraltar. Manchester United’s International Round-up thus had different scenarios around the globe.
Bruno Fernandes started both games for Portugal as they defeated the European powerhouses that are Liechtenstein and Luxembourg by a combined score of 10-0. Diogo Dalot also appeared in the second of those successes. And finally, central defender Victor Lindelöf twice captained Sweden in their contests against Belgium and Azerbaijan. In the first of those games, the Swedes were disappointing as they slipped to a 3-0 defeat against a new-look Belgium. They would bounce back against the Azerbaijanis however, and fellow United star Anthony Elanga even managed to get on the scoresheet as his side picked up a 5-0 victory.
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