Rúben Amorim has been granted a plea he made surrounding one of his “amazing” Manchester United players as the club prepare for an intense end to the 2024/25 campaign.
Several Manchester United stars were in action over the March international break, with some facing off as the Nations League reached its decisive stages and 2026 World Cup qualifying got underway.
Portugal’s Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes emerged victorious in their Nations League quarter-final clash with Denmark, where they faced fellow Reds Patrick Dorgu, Rasmus Højlund, and Christian Eriksen over two legs.
In South America, Manuel Ugarte featured for Uruguay in their 1-1 draw with Bolivia on Tuesday night, while Noussair Mazraoui started both matches as Morocco claimed wins against Niger and Tanzania.
Meanwhile, Matthijs de Ligt was a late addition to the Netherlands squad, marking his 50th cap for the Dutch international side with a special commendation after facing Spain last week.
What Amorim said about De Ligt
After an inconsistent start for United, De Ligt has been an absolute rock for United in the last few months, with a standout block against Leicester City two weeks ago the stellar moment that left many jaw dropped.
The Leicester performance, culminating in a 3-0 win for Amorim’s Reds, was the final one before the international break, and the United head coach was keen to praise his Dutch defender after the full-time whistle.
“I think in the last three weeks, Mata [De Ligt] is doing incredible things,” the United boss told club media when asked about De Ligt’s display at the King Power Stadium.
“I hope he is going to the national team, don’t play a lot of games… but play a little bit. He is doing amazing.”
Although De Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee were left out of Ronald Koeman’s initial Dutch squad, the centre-back was later added after Manchester City’s Nathan Ake and Inter Milan defender Stefan de Vrij withdrew due to injury.
Amorim has been handed exactly what he pleaded
While it is always fantastic to see United’s players thriving on the international stage, such as Dorgu’s brilliance performance against Portugal last week, there is always the slight worry that some players may return with injuries.
With De Ligt’s late call-up, Amorim explained he was worried about the defender playing too many minutes, considering that the Netherlands international had played every minute of United’s previous eight fixtures, including 120 minutes against Fulham.
However, Amorim was handed a good boost over the course of the international break, with De Ligt playing just six minutes across the two times the Dutch squad played Spain.
Koeman’s decision to call the defender up only at the last minute was already an indication that he saw De Ligt as a reserve option. Although the player himself will no doubt want to play every minute he can for the Netherlands, Amorim has been handed exactly what he pleaded for.
De Ligt will now return to Carrington later this week to engage in training with the squad ahead of their trip to face Nottingham Forest on 1 April.
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