International Round Up

By David Hobbs
October 8 2005

Manchester United players were on international duty over the weekend as countries look to book their last-minute ticket to Germany for the World Cup this summer.

ManUtdWeb presents you with a brief summary of every game a Red Devil was involved in:

England 1 - 0 Austria

For the first time since October 1999, a Manchester United player did not start in an England shirt. However, Kieran Richardson and Rio Ferdinand were both second-half substitutes as half-baked England failed to impress infront of an Old Trafford crowd.

Frank Lampard won the game from the penalty spot as former Red Devil and England skipper David Beckham harshly saw red for two bookable offences.

Northern Ireland 2 - 3 Wales

Wales skipper Ryan Giggs was in sensational form for Wales as John Toshack's side recorded their first competitive victory under their new manager. Northern Ireland, who looked to add to the momentum of beating England, suffered a first half slaughtering going into the second-half 2-0 down. However, they found themselves on equal terms just 5 minutes into the re-start.

Giggs set up a first-half Welsh goal with sensational skill before going on to win the game with a precise free-kick.

Cyprus 0 - 1 Republic of Ireland

Despite missing Roy Keane in midfield, the Republic boosted their hopes of World Cup qualification with a win in Cyprus. Stephen Elliot's 6th minute goal claimed the vital victory for the Republic. John O'Shea started and finished the fixture.

Scotland 0 - 1 Belarus

Things started to look up for Scotland before today's 1-0 defeat at home to Belarus. United's Darren Fletcher saw out a full 90 minutes as Kutuzov's first-half goal sealed the win.

Czech Republic 0 - 2 Holland

Edwin van der Sar and Ruud van Nistelrooy are set to have a bust summer as Oranje cemented their place in the World Cup. Despite a training ground bust up in midweek, Ruud van Nistelrooy started up-front but had a quiet night. Goals from Rafael van der Vaart and Barry Opdam made sure Marco van Basten's side would compete in Germany this summer.

David Hobbs - Webmaster
[david@manutdweb.com]