Date: 19th June 2012 at 10:55pm
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Current players at the European Championships: Patrice Evra (France), Phil Jones, Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young (England), Anders Lindegaard (Denmark) and Nani (Portugal).

Former players at the European Championships: Ron-Robert Zieler (Germany), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Gerard Pique (Spain), Darron Gibson and John O’Shea (Republic of Ireland).

Now that the group stages of the European Championships have ended, how have Manchester United footballers past and present fared so far? Germany have been flying high in their 3 games at the Euros so far, winning them all to top group B. Unfortunately for the former Manchester United goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler, being 3rd choice has meant that he has had no minutes on the pitch. Playing for the country that I consider to be the favourites means he has a great chance of leaving Poland and Ukraine with a winners medal.

Manchester United winger Nani and former Manchester United winger Cristiano Ronaldo’s nation Portugal was also in group B at the European Championships. Both have had a pretty good tournaments so far and will feature further, qualifying as group runners up to play Czech Republic in the quarter finals. 2 assists in his 3 games has ensured that Nani has made a mark on this tournament. His delivery has largely been of high quality and he has been threatening to his opposing defence. On the other hand, Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t have the best of starts to the tournament. In the first two games he was wasteful of his chances and showed no end product, however in Portugal’s final group game vs Holland Cristiano Ronaldo put in the performance of tournament, scoring 2 goals and also hitting the post twice.

Anders Lindegaard’s Denmark also featured in group B although by finishing 3rd, his tournament is now over. Anders Lindegaard did not play a single minute at the European Championships as he was forced to play backup to Evian goalkeeper Stephan Andersen.

Spain’s Gerard Pique was the sole interest of Manchester United’s in group C. His nation conceded just the one goal on their way to topping their group. As the current World and European champions are one of the favourites for the tournament, there is a large chance that Gerard Pique could also be walking away with a winners medal. Darron Gibson’s Republic of Ireland also featured in group C however he also did not play a single minute at the European Championships. John O’Shea, however, did. Both he and his team had a pretty bad tournament, finishing bottom of their group after losing all 3 matches.

In group D, Manchester United’s interest was represented by 4 England players and the Frenchman, Patrice Evra. The Frenchman has played in only 1 of France’s 3 games so far having found himself replaced by Man City left back Gael Clichy. With his poor showing in the final group game, Patrice Evra could find himself back into the team for France’s quarter final showdown with current World and European champions Spain.

From the 4 Manchester United players in the England squad, only 3 have took part so far. Phil Jones is yet to feature in the tournament. Danny Welbeck and Ashley Young started all 3 group games for England, with Danny Welbeck scoring an inventive dramatic late winner against Sweden to secure a massive 3 points. Ashley Young’s tournament has been slightly short of the levels expected from him, although with the way the team has been set up, he’s found himself defending a lot more than he has going forward.

The potential for a Wayne Rooney return in the final group game following his suspension was met with it’s fair share of scepticism. Wayne Rooney’s selection was indeed justified. Players of his class come up with the goods even when they’re not at their best and for that reason he cannot be left out. Wayne Rooney was not having the best of games against Ukraine until he scored but he did score and it was the winner. His all round game improved after the goal. England topped the group and France finished 2nd.

 

One response to “Manchester United at the Euros – Group Stages”

  1. Kevin says:

    John O’Shea s a former player no? I know theres not much to say about the Irish performance but still sheao deserves a mention for all his years..