The 2019/20 Premier League campaign is far from over and Manchester United can still end the year on a high being only three points away from a Champions League place as I type, but it’s certainly been another disappointing year for the club given their former dominance under Sir Alex Ferguson.
With the title again being well out of reach this year, you certainly couldn’t fault some of the players beginning to turn their attentions to next season, but before that happens, those of an English persuasion have the Euro 2020 football tournament to look forward to.
With the Group D games almost finalised, there are only a few fixtures left to sort for other countries ahead of the games beginning, and despite a less than stellar league campaign for the club, a few Red Devil’s will be hoping to get the nod from England manager Gareth Southgate once again when he selects his final squad.
Harry Maguire should certainly be a shoo-in and Marcus Rashford would fancy his chances as well given the options Southgate has at the top of the pitch, but there will be a couple of other players who would hope to impress enough in the final months of the year to get calls of their own.
Much depends on how manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side finish the year when it comes to the more fringe players you would think, but a strong last few months from the side can only improve the chances of a greater United presence in the strict one-off event which will take place across 12 host cities to celebrate its 60th birthday.
Wembley Stadium, London
Allianz Arena, Munich
Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Olympic Stadium, Baku
Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
Arena Nationala, Bucharest
Johan Cruyff Arena, Amsterdam
Aviva Stadium, Dublin
San Mames, Bilbao
Puskas Arena, Budapest
Hampden Park, Glasgow
Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Each host nation will see three Group games played, with the larger stadiums featuring again for the knockout stages. Wembley, with the greatest capacity, has been chosen for both semi final clashes and the final, so Three Lions fans will be hoping home advantage counts – football is coming home this year, the first question is, will we make it that far?
The second question is, with Video Assistant Referee technology causing plenty of headaches for Premier League fans and headlines for the press this year, given it will be in use in this years’ competition, and the fact United will have a number of players on show, will our players see the benefit of it or the weirdness it can cause?
Whatever happens, for those players looking at the summer and the distraction that brings, a loss of club form wouldn’t be welcomed by the Old Trafford faithful and any loss of league focus would bring their Euro involvement into doubt as well.
