While the likes of Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial continued to recover from injury ahead of a huge Premier League clash with leaders and fierce rivals Liverpool on Sunday, Manchester United have had a number of players in action at international level.
Here’s a roundup of how all those who represented their respective countries got on…
Junior Internationals
Mason Greenwood was forced to pull out of the England Under-21 squad because of injury, but Angel Gomes and Brandon Williams each started twice for England’s Under-20 side in a 2-2 draw against Italy and 3-0 defeat to Czech Republic – Gomes scored both goals against Italy.
James Garner scored a penalty while captaining England at Under-19 level in a 3-1 defeat to France in the Marbella Cup. The teenager was then skipper again for a 4-2 win over Belgium.
Marcos Rojo (Argentina)
Having played his first international football for over a year during the September international break, Marcos Rojo continued his Argentina comeback with a 45-minute outing in a 2-2 friendly draw against Germany played in Dortmund.
Rojo started the game at centre-back alongside Manchester City’s Nicolas Otamendi, but was substituted at half-time in a tactical reshuffle.
The 29-year-old was then an unused substitute in a 6-1 win over Ecuador in Spain.
Victor Lindelof (Sweden)
Victor Lindelof suffered a back injury that forced him to miss United’s loss against Newcastle prior to the international break and so the defender was left out of the Sweden side that comfortably beat Malta 4-0 in a Euro 2020 qualifier.
He did, however, return to the fold and played 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw with Spain a few days later, proving his fitness ahead of United’s upcoming Premier League clash with Liverpool.
Sweden occupy their group’s second automatic qualifying place with two games to play and are one point ahead of Romania, who conceded a last minute equaliser to Norway this week.
Scott McTominay (Scotland)
Scott McTominay was another United player who missed his country’s first fixture of the international break. Without him, Scotland fell to a 4-0 loss to Russia, which was a fourth consecutive defeat in qualifiers.
Scotland can still get to Euro 2020, which would be a first major tournament since 1998, but their hopes rest on the playoff berth they banked via the UEFA Nations League.
McTominay was back as the Scots at least restored some pride with a 6-0 win over San Marino, with the United midfielder contributing two assists in the game.
Daniel James (Wales)
Daniel James played 90 minutes in each of Wales’ two Euro 2020 qualifiers this month, with the games against Slovakia and Croatia both ending in 1-1 draws. He was considered 'fine' to play on after a potentially dangerous collision in the latter fixture.
United fans may be ruing the loss of a penalty area target man like Romelu Lukaku even more as James got an assist against Slovakia by supplying Kieffer Moore with a pinpoint cross and seeing the Wigan forward head the ball into the back of the net. Mario Mandzukic, anyone?
Wales can still qualify automatically for Euro 2020, but they must win both of their remaining games and hope that Slovakia falter against Croatia and/or Azerbaijan. Failing that, a playoff place may come their way if certain circumstances go in their favour.
David de Gea (Spain)
Having lost his place to Chesea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga, David de Gea was on the bench as Spain kicked off their internationals with a 1-1 Euro 2020 qualifier draw against Norway.
But it was then something of a surprise to see the United stopper get the nod for the subsequent clash with Sweden, a game that ultimately secured Spain’s qualification for the tournament when La Roja got a late equaliser to draw 1-1 in Stockholm.
The bad news for United is that De Gea only lasted an hour and limped off the pitch after suffering a suspected thigh injury. He is therefore considered a doubt for Sunday’s visit of Liverpool, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to confirm the situation on Friday.
Harry Maguire & Marcus Rashford (England)
Harry Maguire and Marcus Rashford each played in both of England’s Euro 2020 qualifiers against Czech Republic and Bulgaria, with Maguire specifically playing every minute.
The United pair were unable to prevent England from being beaten 2-1 by Czech Republic. Rashford came off the bench in that one in place of Jadon Sancho with around 20 minutes left.
Both United players then started in Sofia, a game marred by abhorrent racist chanting from the Bulgarian supporters. Rashford scored the opening goal for England after just seven minutes and was later substituted for Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson.
England had the chance to secure Euro 2020 qualification with a win against Czech Republic owing to the nature of the tiebreaker criteria. But the Three Lions still need one more point from either of their last two games against Montenegro and Kosovo next month.
United Players With No International Football This Month: Eric Bailly (injured), Phil Jones (injured), Paul Pogba (injured), Juan Mata, Anthony Martial (injured), Lee Grant, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, Fred, Ashley Young, Diogo Dalot, Sergio Romero, Luke Shaw, Timothy Fosu-Mensah (injured), Mason Greenwood (injured), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (ill), Nemanja Matic, Axel Tuanzebe, Tahith Chong.
Source : 90min