0% aerial duels, 0 tackles made: United flop’s miserable season continues at World Cup

Manchester United had one player in World Cup action on Monday. Amad made a splash for the Ivory Coast when he scored the winner versus Ecuador on Sunday. Noussair Mazraoui also impressed by shutting down Raphinha for Morocco against Brazil on Saturday. Unfortunately, Manuel Ugarte could not have a similar effect for Uruguay against Saudi Arabia. Poor form The Uruguay international has been a bit-part player all season for United, especially since Michael Carrick became manager. He played just 24 games for the Red Devils, totalling just 1005 minutes of action. Ugarte did not kick a football in anger for United since a 1-2 home defeat to Leeds United in the middle of April. As a result, it is fully expected that Ugarte will be sold this summer, with the likes of Galatasaray and Crystal Palace linked to the combative midfielder. Saudi Arabia game Ugarte played 72 minutes in Uruguay’s 1-1 draw with Saudi Arabia. He did not make any key passes or cross attempts in the match. He was safe with the ball, though, making 90% of his passing attempts in the match. He also made 50% of his long ball attempts in the game. Ugarte is not known for his goalscoring, having only scored two goals for United and one for Uruguay during his career. Nonetheless, he had two shots on goal during the match and almost scored a goal for his nation, but his effort rattled off the post. The midfielder did complete one dribble attempt but did not make any tackles in the match. What’s more, he only won 33% of his ground duels and none of his aerial contests in a disappointing midfield showing. Uruguay will hope to secure all three points when they take on Cape Verde on Sunday night at 23:00 BST. Manuel Ugarte stats vs Saudi Arabia MetricValue Goals0 Expected goals (xG)0.03 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.02 Key passes0 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes57/63 (90%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)35/40 (88%) Passes in own half (acc.)22/23 (96%) Long balls (accurate)2/4 (50%) Total shots2 Expected goals on target (xGOT)0.16 Shots on target1 Hit woodwork1 Shots blocked0 Touches74 Unsuccessful touches3 Dribbles (successful)2 (1) Possession lost10 Total carrying distance252.2 m Carries31 Total progression127.6 m Def. contributions3 Tackles (won)0 (0) Interceptions2 Clearances1 Blocked shots0 Recoveries6 Ground duels (won)3 (1) Aerial duels (won)3 (0) Dribbled past1 Featured image Carl Recine via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.