Sofyan Amrabat won his 50th cap for Morocco in a 2-0 win over Tanzania on Tuesday.

The defensive midfielder is now 12th on Morocco’s all time appearance list and only 24 caps away from reaching second place on the list. He still has some considerable work to do to reach Nourredine Naybet’s record of 93 caps, however. Although at only 27 years old, the United number four may fancy his chances.

The North African side were supposed to begin their World Cup qualification campaign against Eritrea on Thursday 16th November. However, the game was cancelled due to fears that Eritrean players “would attempt to seek political asylum during trips abroad”, due to the oppressive regime which currently governs the nation.

Nonetheless, the Moroccans got off to a perfect start by winning in Tanzania and currently top group E after the opening round of fixtures.

It was a special match for Amrabat as he won his 50th cap for the World Cup semi-finalists.

The Atlas Lions were convincing winners of the match through goals by Hakim Ziyech in the 28th minute and an own goal by Tanzania in the second half.

Amrabat himself played at the base of a midfield three, being tasked to shield the back four and be a playmaker from the back, as he so often does for his national side.

The midfielder played the whole 90 minutes and received a yellow card in the 65th minute. The North Africans had a horrendous start as Achraf Hakimi missed a penalty in only the third minute of play. This didn’t deter Morocco though and they scored two unanswered goals before Tanzanian defender, Novatus Miroshi, was sent off in the 65th minute to make the job even easier for Amrabat’s team.

The Fiorentina player, who is currently on loan at Manchester United, has had a rough start to his career at the club. The midfielder has struggled to nail down a starting role due to a combination of being played out of position, niggling injuries and poor form on his part.

It was even reported by The Peoples Person that United have already decided they are unlikely to pick up the option to sign him at the end of the season due to his inconsistent form.

This is in stark contrast to the Moroccan midfielder’s usual displays for his country. The player was instrumental in his nation reaching the final four of the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. Sofascore credited him with a 7.3 rating in their highly impressive win versus Brazil in March this year.

The man from Huizen, played the full 90 minutes with a jaw-dropping 91% pass rate accuracy. He also had five tackles, two blocked shots and two interceptions in a great defensive display.

The Moroccan will hope there is a way he can convince Erik ten Hag to include him more frequently in the Red Devils’ starting line-up and somehow transfer his form for his national team to the Premier League side. He will need to if he is to continue to live his “dream” of playing at Old Trafford beyond this season.

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Having beaten Romania and Japan in the opening fixtures, England finished off the tournament unbeaten with a convincing win lead by Manchester United’s Kobbie Mainoo.

Mainoo was joined by Elyh Harrison in the England starting line up as they ended their time in Spain over the international break.

It took until the 22nd minute for England to open the scoring but floodgates opened then, with another three goals within 10 minutes.

Mainoo was key to England’s third goal as he cut out the wayward pass from Mexico before calmly poking the ball past the keeper to Dominic Ballard for an easy finish.

Kobbie Mainoo's assists vs Mexico pic.twitter.com/oCkE3YLeSz

— utdreport Academy (@utdreportAcad) November 21, 2023

Going into the break 5-1 up, Elyh Harrison departed as England made a number of changes which also saw Ashley Phillips exit to give the captain’s armband to Mainoo.

With the added responsibility Mainoo drove England forward and was quickly involved in another goal early in the second half.

Initially dribbling through three Mexican players into the box Mainoo lost possession but not for long and applied composure well above his years to one touch lay off to Ronnie Stutter to score.

England eventually ran out 7-1 winners with Mainoo playing the full 90 minutes after playing 76 and 30 minutes against Japan and Romania respectively.

A dominative performance in the midfield with quick movement, driving runs, sprayed passes, and composure in the opposition’s box, Mainoo demonstrated abilities United have desperately been seeking under Erik ten Hag.

Back to full fitness having returned to playing a month ago, it can only be a matter of time before Mainoo is given his chance in United’s first team.

Combined with the injuries, thin options in midfield and lacklustre performances from the senior members, the stars are perfectly aligned for the 18 year old to make the next step.

The post Kobbie Mainoo captains England u19s to Marbella Cup win appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

The last international break of the calendar year was wrapped up over the weekend with European nations learning their fate regarding qualification Euro 2024.

Portugal are one of the sides safely through to next summer’s tournament, finishing with maximum points from their ten qualifying fixtures.

Roberto Martinez men rounded off their campaign with a routine 2-0 victory against Iceland but it was an incident in the tunnel at half-time that grabbed the headlines, rather than the performance on the night.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva were caught sharing an awkward reaction toward Bruno Fernandes’ half-time pep talk with goalkeeper, Diogo Costa.

In a clip that surfaced on X, Fernandes appeared to be discussing something with Costa with Ronaldo and Silva in earshot of the conversation.

Nah, look how Ronaldo and Bernardo Silva reacted to Bruno’s analysis talk before the second half pic.twitter.com/juwUuJKKQv

— Freddy (@freddyCR7LA) November 20, 2023

The pair then made eye contact with each other before smirking and turning away from their teammates.

Ronaldo then jogged out of the tunnel with a bemused grin on his face to start the second half.

It’s unclear what Fernandes was saying and the reaction from Ronaldo and Silva could have been unrelated to the United captain but the clip makes for awkward viewing and suggests there could be a lack of respect from Ronaldo toward Fernandes.

The United man was in fine form once more for his country, lashing home a fine effort in the first half to set Portugal on their way.

Braga striker Ricardo Horta added to Bruno’s strike midway through the second period to put the cherry on a fine qualifying campaign for Martinez and his troops.

Portugal will be one of the favourites for the crown in Germany and the tunnel incident is unlikely to cause any disturbance in the happy Portuguese camp.

Bruno will hope to translate his international form to club level with United facing a tricky set of fixtures in the coming weeks.

Trips to Everton, Galatasaray and Newcastle are on the horizon before United’s next Premier League outing at Old Trafford midway through December.

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Manchester United winger, Facundo Pellistri, continued his impressive form for the Uruguayan national team in a comprehensive 3-0 win versus Bolivia.

The win consolidated Uruguay’s second position in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification league table. La Celeste have 13 points from six games and are only two points adrift of world champions, Argentina.

The 21 year old winger has found gametime hard to come by this season with Manchester United, only making seven appearances so far and those being predominantly limited cameos from the bench.

However, the Uruguayan starlet did contribute a vital last-gasp assist for Bruno Fernandes to win the game against Fulham at the beginning of the month. Nonetheless, major moments of contribution have been far and few between.

Contrastingly, the youngster has enjoyed significantly greater action and key moments for his national team of late.

He has already played eight times this calendar year for Uruguay and has 18 appearances in total in just two years. The youngster’s extraordinary display against Bolivia came off the back of a successful night’s work against Argentina last Friday, as reported by The Peoples Person.

Last night was arguably an even more accomplished performance by the 21 year old. Sofascore gave the winger a highly credible 7.9 score. The youngster provided an assist for Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez in the opening 15 minutes of the game to get his team off to the perfect start.

Pellistri showed his throwback winger style by racing down the right wing and cutting the ball back for Nunez to volley home. The action was akin to when Pellistri assisted Wout Weghorst for his only Old Trafford goal against Real Betis in the Europa League last campaign.

The winger was also involved in Nunez’s second and Uruguay’s third of the night, by being heavily involved at the start of the build-up phase for the goal. The United’s number 28 dribbled with the ball, in what was one of his two successful dribbles of the game, and laid the ball off for a cross that eventually led to the ball hitting the back of the net.

Pellistri was credited for creating two big chances in the game and having a meticulous passing performance with 23 from 26 finding their intended target. This is particularly remarkable for a winger, who typically lose the ball more through chance creation. The youngster was able to expertly blend creativity with accuracy in this performance.

The young attacker came off after 77 minutes in Montevideo, his hometown, with another great night’s work under his belt. Pellistri will surely be chomping at the bit to get back to Manchester and try to get some more meaningful gametime at his club. With Antony’s catastrophic form and Sancho’s exile from the squad, it is surprising to many fans why Erik ten Hag has not provided the right winger with more chances.

Pellistri’s traditional wing play of trying to beat a man with pace and skill, before whipping in a cross, would certainly be lapped up by the Old Trafford crowd. Many of the older members will have witnessed awe-inspiring wing play from the like of Ryan Giggs and Andrei Kanchelskis in the past and would be keen to see a similar style in the modern era.

The man from Montevideo will hope he has the chance to show it before he is forced to exit the club on loan or permanently in the near future.

The post Facundo Pellistri stars for Uruguay again appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

Victor Lindelof voluntarily handed over his captain’s armband on Sunday night to Swedish teammate, Albin Ekdal.

Ekdal was playing in his 70th and final international appearance for his national side and according to Manchester United’s official website, the United number two decided to relinquish the captaincy for one night only.

The experienced Swedish centre back has played 246 times for United and 64 times for his national team. Lindelof was also recently the hero when he scored the winning goal in the Red Devils latest 1-0 win over Luton Town before the international break commenced.

The former Benfica man has also had the privilege of captaining the Scandinavians since August 2021, following Andreas Granqvist’s retirement.

Tonight would be different though, as “the Iceman” opted to let his colleague enjoy the responsibility of leading out his side for the night.

Ekdal was given a standing ovation as he left the field of play after 72 minutes at the Friends Arena in Stockholm.

The night itself was a successful one for Sweden even if their campaign has been far from satisfactory. The Swedes beat Estonia 2-0 in their final group game with goals from Viktor Claesson and Emil Forsberg.

Lindelof himself played the full 90 minutes and achieved a 7 rating on sofascore.

The defender had a quiet night, keeping a clean sheet for his side and only needing to intercept the ball once. Lindelof impressively won three out of four aerial duals and also had a strong passing accuracy of 87%. “The Iceman” even completed one successful dribble.

Sadly however, Lindelof and his teammates will not be participating in this summer’s Euros as they finished a distant third in their group with a meagre ten points collected from eight games.

Lindelof himself posted on social media after the game in honour of Ekdal, “end of a great journey. It’s been an honour my friend”.

The Swedish defender has fame already for being a nice guy.

The Peoples Person reported back in 2020 that the then 26-year-old was holidaying in his hometown of Västerås when he spotted a thief snatching a woman’s handbag and making his escape on a bicycle.

The former Benfica defender sprinted after the thief and held him down for five minutes until the police arrived. A spokesperson for Manchester United claimed “Victor feels that he just did what anyone else would have done in that situation”.

Lindelof will be hoping with the international break now over, he can keep up his pre international break form and continue helping his club side propel up the league table.

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Bruno Fernandes is leading the way, just like he does at United, as he shone for Portugal against Iceland in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

With Iceland putting on a brave front, the game was scoreless near the end of the first half.

Fernandes then stepped up, as he took the ball under control and passed it to the right wing.

He waited at the edge of the box in space for a cutback which arrived at the perfect time. Fernandes unleashed a ferocious strike which sailed past everyone and into the Iceland goal.

Bruno Fernandes with a clean strike

(via @FOXSoccer)pic.twitter.com/jSXHwO81uO

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 19, 2023

The goal brought him to four goals in six European qualifier appearances which is now more than the number of goals he has scored for United this season in 12 games (three).

Portugal went on to win the game 2-0 and Fernandes’ handprint was all over the game even beyond his wonderstrike.

As he is for United, he was the creative hub for a Portugal side that had all the big guns like Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix, and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He finished the match with a ridiculous six key passes and 111 touches. He successfully completed 79 of his 88 passes and in true Fernandes fashion, tried to play it forward most times.

Even his Hollywood long balls were finding their mark, as he completed five of six attempted long balls. (Stats courtesy Sofascore)

Overall, it was a Man of the Match display by United’s “Magnifico” who will now look to transfer this international form to the club level.

United travel to Everton on November 26 for their first game after the international break and will need Fernandes to be at his absolute best at a tricky venue.

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Altay Bayindir played his first game of the 2023/2024 season yesterday to help Turkey achieve an impressive win against Germany in Berlin.

The game was only a friendly but it will be a massive shot of confidence for a Turkish team who were dubbed a “disaster” in Euro 2020 and subsequently failed to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022.

Bayindir has not represented Manchester United for a single minute this season but he got his first taste of action in the Olympia Estadion Berlin.

The Turkish keeper had a solid game with a sofascore rating of 6.6. The keeper made two saves inside the box and took one high claim in 90 minutes of action.

The former Fenerbahçe man was beaten in the opening 5 minutes as Germany went 1-0 up. To be fair to Altay, the Turkish defence was cut to ribbons by a precise German move that saw Leroy Sane square for Kai Havertz to finish from close range. There was nothing the Man United keeper could do.

The 25 year old probably rode his luck in the 16th minute when Sane went through on goal and Bayindir came rushing out but got nowhere near the ball. Fortunately for the United man, the German attacker failed to hit the target.

The Turkish team as a whole fought hard and got their noses in front thanks to goals by Ferdi Kadioglu and Kenan Yildiz before the half time whistle.

However, the second half did not start well for Bayindir or Turkey. Germany quickly got back on level terms when Borussia Dortmund attacker, Niclas Füllkrug, beat United’s number two keeper from a shot outside the box. Perhaps the Turkish keeper could have got down quicker at his near post but it would be harsh to lay the blame at his door.

However, the rest of the second half was a positive one for Bayindir and his side. The Turks scored again from the penalty spot to make it 3-2 on the night. the United man also bravely collected a high cross from Havertz, colliding with his own defender in the process. Thankfully, there was no injury. United fans’ hearts would have been racing, especially considering Andre Onana limped off for Cameroon on Friday night.

However, the former Fenerbahçe keeper’s most crucial involvement of the night arrived in the 73rd minute. German striker, Julian Brandt, broke through and went one-on-one with the Turk. Bayindir stood strong and repelled the attack to maintain his nation’s narrow advantage.

This should probably come as no surprise as The Peoples Person revealed that the Turkish keeper is considered a “world-class” shotstopper by many in his home country. However, what would be most pleasing to United and Erik ten Hag is the passing performance of the keeper.

The Turk played 34 passes, completing 28. Bayindir was also regularly seen outside his box and spraying the ball about with confidence. One such occasion came in the first half when a beautiful long ball was sprayed almost inch-perfectly into his teammate’s path, but the ball was cleared by the panicked German defence.

Bayindir has been criticised for his ball playing skills whilst playing for the Turkish giants, so a performance like this will be music to Ten Hag’s ears as he tries to mould the player into an Onana-style sweeper keeper.

All in all, it was a successful night’s work for his side who will be full of confidence for the upcoming Euros in the summer. Bayindir will also be hopeful that his performance caught the eye of his club manager, so he can finally play his first minutes for his new club, and give his fellow new signing, Andre Onana, some genuine competition.

The post Altay Bayindir helps Turkey to famous win appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

Player performances aside, injuries to Marcus Rashford and Andre Onana make it a nightmare break for Erik ten Hag.

However, some players are still putting their best foot forward, and more importantly, getting crucial minutes at the international level that they aren’t at Old Trafford.

Facundo Pellistri was one such player for Uruguay who engineered a huge upset yesterday.

Uruguay beat Lionel Messi’s Argentina 2-0 away from home with Pellistri playing 88 minutes for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

The United winger was a busy presence throughout as his side put on a thoroughly committed display, outworking the current World Champions.

Pellistri was stationed at his favoured right-wing position and did the “dirty work” diligently, regularly tracking back to help Ronald Araujo at right-back, who ended up being Uruguay’s best performer.

Bielsa used Pellistri as an outlet on the counter-attack, with the United winger attempting six dribbles, successfully completing four.

Uruguay finished the game with just 36% possession, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that Pellistri finished the game with just 24 touches.

However, his disciplined display will do more to impress Erik ten Hag than anything else.

The United manager has regularly asked his wingers to do work at both ends of the pitch so Pellistri’s contribution wouldn’t have gone unnoticed at Old Trafford.

Ten Hag has remained committed to making United one of the best transition teams in the world and Pellistri’s suitability for it looked perfect against Argentina.

The 21-year-old’s game looks to have grown leaps and bounds from his days of being a “head-down and run forward” winger who couldn’t be relied upon to do a solid job.

Ten Hag will hope that Pellistri’s growth at the international level, under the watchful eyes of Marcelo Bielsa gets transferred to the club level, especially as his attacking options look set to be thinned in January.

The post Facundo Pellistri shines as Uruguay upset Lionel Messi’s Argentina away from home appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

The flying winger made his debut for the Albiceleste in June, but is yet to start a game and has amassed just 51 minutes across three matches.

He was an unused substitute in the team’s last two encounters against Peru and Paraguay.

The 19 year old was expected to be picked again for the back-to-back ties this week, but the coach opted to recall veteran and former United player Angel di Maria, who is currently plying his trade in Portugal at Benfica.

Asked about the decision to leave out Garnacho, Scaloni said (via Sport Witness):

“In terms of Ale, it’s a question of football, the same thing I said to him.”

“Sometimes bringing players, we are human beings, and we don’t like to bring players and leave them out constantly or that they are not part of the squad.

“He wants to be there, he’s great, but there are times when the human part plays and you have to make decisions. It would have been easy for me to bring him, to be here and maybe he won’t play.

“In the last call-ups he didn’t have a minute and well, there are times when you have to make decisions, but he’s a boy who’s on our radar and he’s going to stay, he’s just starting, and he has a huge future.”

What will be a big disappointment for Garnacho will come as a big boost for United manager Erik ten Hag, who will want his young star fresh and raring to go when domestic football resumes on 26th November.

With a horrendous injury roster that includes Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund, and with Jadon Sancho also unavailable due to a dispute with the manager, any injuries incurred on international duty will be particularly hard to bear for the Red Devils.

Ironically, another United winger, Facu Pellistri, will be in action in one of the games Garnacho misses out on, as he lines up for Uruguay against Scaloni’s men, who have four wins from four games so far in qualifying. Uruguay lie second in the qualifiers table, level on points with Brazil and Venezuela.

The post Lionel Scaloni explains why he axed Alejandro Garnacho from Argentina squad appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.

International weeks are always a time when players can take a break from the grind of club football and have a chance to represent their country, while meeting up with their compatriots. From Thursday 16th of November to Tuesday 21st, many of Manchester United’s players will be doing just that.

A club of United’s stature will always have a diversity of players jetting away to all corners of the globe to represent their nation, and this international break is no exception, despite the injury crisis currently engulfing the Mancunian side.

In Europe, England have already qualified for the Euros this summer but still have to face Malta and North Macedonia. Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire have been named in the Three Lions squad and will hope to continue their fine form for their national team.

Scotland have also started preparations for France this summer and the talismanic Scott McTominay has been called up. The Scot has had a seismic effect on Scotland’s highly meritorious qualification for next summer’s tournament and will be hoping to add more goals to his impressive tally as they take on Georgia and Norway.

Team captain, Bruno Fernandes, will be the club’s only representative in Portugal’s squad as Diogo Dalot pulled out recently due to his and his partner’s first child being expected in the upcoming days.

Altay Bayindir, despite not playing for the Red Devils this season, will hope to get some game time in either Turkey’s friendly versus Germany or in their crunch top of the table clash vs Wales.

The good news ends here though as Victor Lindelof’s Sweden are a distant third in their group and are unlikely to qualify for the tournament. The match winner against Luton will still hope to captain his side to further wins against Azerbaijan and Estonia.

Sadly, Jonny Evans, Rasmus Hojlund and Christian Eriksen will all miss out when Northern Ireland and Denmark play each other next Monday in Belfast.

In Africa, Sofyan Amrabat will play one game for Morocco versus Tanzania and Andre Onana will hope to follow up Saturday’s clean sheet with another against Mauritius and Libya. Both players will be hoping for crucial wins in their World Cup qualification campaign.

Finally, Facundo Pellistri will represent Uruguay against Bolivia and a mouth-watering tie against Argentina. Casemiro will not be representing Brazil due to injury and Alejandro Garnacho has been dropped from the Argentine squad.

All United fans will be wishing their players all the best in the upcoming fixtures, unless of course they happen to be playing against their own nation of birth.

However, what all fans of the Red Devils really want, is a nice clean bill of health and all players coming back fit and raring to go to take on the relentless winter schedule domestically and in Europe. What a welcome surprise that would be.

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