90min
·6 September 2023
90min
·6 September 2023
Sir Alex Ferguson forged a formidable reputation among international managers during his time in charge of Manchester United.
"I was in fear of him," former Wales boss Bobby Gould admitted in his autobiography, "and he probably knew it."
Nicky Butt revealed Ferguson's blunt approach among his players when the international window rolled around: "He'd just say: 'You’ve got an England friendly coming up and you’re not going.' And that was that."
United's current boss Erik ten Hag doesn't have quite the same sway - his players are coming out of international retirement rather than shirking call-ups from their country.
Here's where United's internationals are off to in September and how to keep an eye on them.
Most of Manchester United's squad will be on international duty this month / James Gill - Danehouse/GettyImages
Intriguingly, Denmark's Christian Eriksen is the only international centurion among Manchester United's current squad. The youngest player at the 2010 World Cup is still chugging along and has returned to his club's starting XI after Mason Mount's injury.
Luke Shaw will join Mount in Carrington's treatment room while Marcus Rashford and Harry Maguire team up with England.
Gareth Southgate favourite Maguire earned his first competitive minutes of the season at the tail-end of Manchester United's Premier League defeat to Arsenal on Sunday.
Lining up alongside Maguire for the dramatic conclusion of that contest, Jonny Evans' first competitive appearance of his second spell at the club had the air of a Jamie Vardy testimonial. Yet, even at the age of 35, Evans remains a key cog in Michael O'Neill's Northern Ireland team.
Ten Hag may consider him surplus to requirements but Scott McTominay is a prized asset for the Scottish national team. Often used as a centre-back for his country, McTominay stumbled upon a rich vein of scoring form during the European qualifiers; the Lancaster-born player has racked up five goals in his last four internationals.
In less than 20 minutes during a UEFA Nations League game against the Czech Republic last year, Diogo Dalot scored as many goals for Portugal (two) as he has across his previous 81 appearances for Manchester United. Bruno Fernandes will join Dalot for matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg.
Antony has pointedly and belatedly been dropped by Brazil but Casemiro will be there for the upcoming South American World Cup qualifiers. Argentina may be global champions, but Lisandro Martinez and Alejandro Garnacho still have to help their nation qualify for the tournament in 2026.
Goalkeeper Andre Onana unquestionably has the most crucial match waiting for him on his return to the Cameroon squad. A draw in the final qualifier against Burundi would be enough for Cameroon to make it to the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast this January. After being exiled during the World Cup, Onana is poised to make his return in this dramatic clash.
Marcus Rashford scored on his last appearance for England in June / Robin Jones/GettyImages
Lisandro Martinez won the World Cup with Argentina in December 2022 / Marvin Ibo Guengoer - GES Sportfoto/GettyImages
Argentina's first competitive internationals as World Cup champions since the 1980s will not be broadcast live in the UK. Viewers in Argentina can watch the match on free-to-air Television Publica or TyC but the nation's tricky qualifiers for the next tournament are scarcely available outside South America.
The official YouTube account of CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American football, uploads highlights of all World Cup qualifiers on the day of the game.
Casemiro will return to the base of midfield with his national team / Zhizhao Wu/GettyImages
Brazil's two World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Peru are only widely available in the southern hemisphere. Brazilians who haven't got a ticket to the Mangueirao in the religious city of Belem can watch the match on SporTV, Globo, Canais Globo or NOW NET e Claro.
Yet, as is the case for Argentina, highlights of Brazil's qualifiers will be available on CONMEBOL's YouTube channel.
Andre Onana is back in the Cameroon national team / Visionhaus/GettyImages
Cameroon's decisive clash with Burundi will naturally be beamed all over Africa on SuperSport.
UK broadcasters may be bizarrely ignoring this all-important fixture but North American viewers can tune in live. The Canadian and US iterations of beIN Sports, fuboTV and Fanatiz are covering the contest.
Interested spectators in the United Kingdom will have to wait until the highlights are uploaded to the official YouTube account of the Confederation of African Football, CAF TV.
Sofyan Amrabat will appear for Morocco's national team before making his Manchester United debut / Alex Livesey - Danehouse/GettyImages
Much like Cameroon's fixtures, Morocco's upcoming games will be available in numerous countries outside the UK.
Canada and the US can again watch the match live on beIN Sports, fuboTV and Fanatiz, while the contest is broadcast across Africa on SuperSport. The highlights on CAF TV's YouTube channel will once again be a refuge for many in Europe.
Jonny Evans has captained Northern Ireland in his recent appearances / Alessandro Sabattini/GettyImages
Diogo Dalot (left) and Bruno Fernandes are teammates for club and country / OLI SCARFF/GettyImages
Scott McTominay has been in brilliant form for Scotland of late / Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/GettyImages
Victor Lindelof picked up the nickname Iceman during his time in Sweden / Michael Campanella/GettyImages
Hannibal Mejbri has been involved with his national team much more than his club side / Charles McQuillan/GettyImages
Hannibal's Tunisia have already secured qualification to the finals in the Ivory Coast at the start of the new year but the completists among the nation's UK-based viewership will be unable to watch the final qualifier against Botswana.
Tunisia's friendly against record AFCON champions Egypt is yet to even have a kick-off time confirmed, let along a broadcast slot.
While Turkey's European qualifier will be available for UK viewers on the subscription service Viaplay, the national team's friendly against Japan will not be broadcast live on these shores.
Facundo Pellistri featured for Uruguay at the 2022 World Cup / Richard Sellers/Allstar/GettyImages
South American qualifiers have been shunned by broadcasters outside the continent but all of Uruguay's matches are streamed on the federation's in-house channel, AUFTV.
Fans can register for free to watch the first games of Marcelo Biela's reign.