International Round-Up - 15th/16th August, 2007
Ing-Ger-Land
By Chris O'Brien
August 20 2006
Eight Manchester United stars have been in international action during the week. Gary Neville, Kieran Richardson and Rio Ferdinand were all in action as England cruised to a 4-0 victory over European champions Greece, whilst the Netherlands and France both secured much-needed wins.
Eight Manchester United players were in international action during the week, as many of Europe's leading football nations prepare for the upcoming Euro 2008 qualifiers. Here's a round-up of how our lads performed:
England 4-0 Greece
Steve McClaren kicked-off his tenure as England manager with an emphatic 4-0
victory over European champions Greece at Old Trafford.
A superb first-half performance from the hosts saw McClaren's men four up by the break. John Terry marked his first match as captain with the opening goal, with Frank Lampard doubling the advantage and gangly striker Peter Crouch putting the result beyond doubt with a brace.
Gary Neville, Kieran Richardson and Rio Ferdinand all started the game for England, with Wesley Brown and out-on-loan goalkeeper Ben Foster both warming the bench throughout.
Wales 0-0 Bulgaria
Ryan Giggs was in excellent form as John Toshack's Welsh side battled to
a goalless draw against Bulgaria, watched by some 8,200 on Tuesday evening.
The United winger had the best chance of the game, with his first-half free-kick well saved by 'keeper Georgi Petkov. However, the skipper played only 51 minutes for his country before being replaced by Derby youngster Lewin Nyatanga, seemingly following instructions from Sir Alex Ferguson.
Bulgaria created more opportunities over the course of the game, but neither side did enough to break the deadlock ahead of the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.
Republic of Ireland 0-4 Netherlands
Steve Staunton's Republic of Ireland served up a woeful performance against a
confident Dutch side at Lansdowne Road.
A brace from
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and strikes from Premiership
duo Arjen Robben and Robin Van Persie was more than enough to condemn the Irish
to an embarrassing defeat, with United's John O'Shea particularly
dissappointing in defence.
It was a relatively easy afternoon for Red Devils stopper Edwin Van Der Sar,
easily keeping the hosts at bay as the Netherlands cruised to a convincing win.
Norway 1-1 Brazil
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made his first international appearance for over two
years as Norway secured a creditable score draw against Brazil.
The versatile forward, making a controversial return to the Norway set-up after
long-term injury, played the opening 45 minutes and went close to scoring with a
stunning bicycle kick.
Morten Gamst Pedersen opened the scoring on 51 minutes with an excellent free-kick, though Daniel Carvalho levelled the scores with a fine finish. The result maintained the Scandinavian's impressive recent record over Brazil; now unbeaten in the last four encounters between the two nations.
Bosnia
& Herzegovina
1-2 France
Louis Saha played the full 90 minutes as the World Cup runners-up secured
a late victory over a hard-working Bosnian side.
Sergej Barbarez gave the hosts a surprise lead, only for William Gallas to
restore parity and Julien Faubert to net a late winner for Les Bleus.