A round-up of what happened to Man United’s international contingent on Sunday....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice for Portugal against Switzerland on Sunday evening.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to help Portugal beat Switzerland 4-0 and register their first win of this current Nations League campaign.
After starting Thursday evening’s 1-1 draw with Spain on the bench, Ronaldo, who scored 24 goals for Manchester United this past season, was restored to the starting line-up by Portugal boss Fernando Santos for the clash at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon. He wasted little time in justifying his recall, scoring twice in just four first-half minutes.
After taking an early lead through William Carvalho, Portugal doubled their advantage through Ronaldo just ten minutes before the half-time interval. He netted his second and Portugal’s third four minutes later, ensuring they had a commanding lead to take into the break.
Portugal made absolutely sure of the three points just past the midway point of the second-half, netting the fourth goal through Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo.
Bruno Fernandes started the match but was replaced by Bernardo Silva just a minute before Cancelo scored, while Diogo Dalot was an unused substitute.
The win moved Portugal to the top of their Nations League group as Spain could only manage a 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic. They required a last-gasp equaliser from Inigo Martinez to earn a point.
Elsewhere in the Nations League, Reds youngster Anthony Elanga sampled his first taste of the competition, stepping off the bench to score a late consolation goal in Sweden’s 2-1 home defeat to Norway and bag his first international goal.
He was introduced with the Swedes 1-0 down and scored a lovely, curling effort in stoppage time after Erling Haaland had earlier netted his second to put Norway 2-0 up.
Elanga had played no part in Sweden’s 2-0 win over Slovenia in their Nations League opener on Thursday. It was his first outing for his country since late-March.
Ronaldo and Elanga’s goals have sent a strong message to new United boss Erik ten Hag that they should be heavily involved in his plans at the club.
Meanwhile, Dylan Levitt watched his teammates secure Wales’ spot at their first World Cup in 64 years, as they beat Ukraine 1-0 in their winner-takes-all playoff showdown in Cardiff.
Andriy Yarmolenko netted a first-half own-goal to secure Wales’ place in Qatar, but United youngster Levitt was not involved.
Finally, fellow youngster Hannibal Mejbri earned his 14th senior cap for Tunisia as they drew 0-0 with Botswana in their latest qualifier for the Africa Cup of Nations. He stepped off the bench in second-half injury time to replace Naim Sliti for the remaining few minutes.
