Manchester United fans are already counting down to the clash against Southampton but players still have international football on their minds.
The international break continues and Manchester United players are in action all over the globe.
Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes beat former teammate Scott McTominay on Sunday night as Portugal narrowly defeat Scotland 2-1.
Joshua Zirkzee impressed for the Netherlands against Bosnia and Herzegovina with the Dutch media raving about his goalscoring display.
Teammate Matthijs de Ligt didn’t enjoy the same fortunes though.
The Dutch media criticised United’s new centre back after a tough outing against Bosnia and Herzegovina and his role in the team has been questioned.
Ronald Koeman on Matthijs de Ligt
De Ligt struggled for game time at Euro 2024 with Stefan de Vrij preferred as the partner for Virgil van Dijk in the heart of the Netherlands defence.
The United defender was given a chance to shine against Bosnia but really didn’t take it.
De Ligt was slow to push out for the first Bosnia goal and played Ermedin Demirovic onside as he found the net.
Edin Dzeko scored Bosnia’s second goal, ghosting in behind De Ligt to bury his chance.
Those two moments were not the best for De Ligt but he has now been backed by boss Ronald Koeman.
The Netherlands boss has told Voetbal International that he has spoken to De Ligt about his difficult night against Bosnia.
Koeman accepts that De Ligt ‘has to improve’ but urged everybody ‘not to be too dramatic’ about his errors.
Koeman added that he thinks De Ligt has made a ‘good move’ by joining United but isn’t sure why he ended up leaving Bayern Munich over the summer.
“We talked about it briefly. That was focused on the goal. He is not in a good position. He did not come out well with his steps,” said Koeman on De Ligt’s defending for Dzeko’s goal.
“’That was an individual bad moment from a defender. You have to learn from that, but also not be too dramatic about it. Don’t put too much emphasis on it. He also had very good moments on the ball. That resulted in another big chance, when he played directly forward once. But it is clear that he also has to improve.
“I don’t know why the club sold him. Or maybe it was his decision. He called me to talk about the move to United. That was a good move, but staying at Bayern would have been good for him too. I hope he gets to play at United and develops his game further,” he added.
De Ligt has another chance to shine
De Ligt looks poised to keep his place in the Netherlands side against Germany on Tuesday night.
This is a major test for De Ligt and another opportunity to prove that he deserves to play more moving forward.
Dzeko and Demirovic are quality strikers in their own right but Germany can call upon the likes of Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug, Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala.
De Ligt will be desperate to impress and prove himself once again with a strong display against a major rival.
De Ligt has also brought a little more pressure on himself by criticising German football, with more than a few Bundesliga players no doubt looking to prove a point.
A bounce-back performance would be ideal for De Ligt, not just for his international hopes but also for United ahead of a trip to face Southampton this weekend.
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