Mazraoui tees up stoppage-time win for Morocco
Saturday 22 March 2025 11:05
Noussair Mazraoui set up a stoppage-time winner for Morocco on Friday night, as the involvement of Manchester United’s players in the March international break continued.
The Reds defender featured for the entirety of his nation’s 2-1 win over Niger, helping to complete a dramatic turnaround by crossing for Leicester’s Bilal El Khannouss to head home in the first added minute, after a nice one-two with Real Madrid midfielder Brahim Diaz.
Youssouf Oumarou had put their opponents ahead early in the second half, but after PSV attacker Ismael Saibari levelled things up, Morocco snatched the win to take all three points from the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier and open up a six-point gap at the top of Group E in the African section.
You can check out Noussair’s assist by pressing play on the video below.
— Équipe du Maroc (@EnMaroc) March 21, 2025
England also took a positive step towards next summer’s tournament on Friday, kicking off their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Albania at Wembley Stadium – a game that United’s Marcus Rashford played the majority of for the home team.
Rashford, currently on loan at Aston Villa, completed 74 minutes on the left flank for the Three Lions, who made a winning start to life under new boss Thomas Tuchel.
Arsenal teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly surpassed Rashford’s record of being the youngest player in history to net on his senior England debut when he opened the scoring in the first half, before Bayern Munich talisman Harry Kane got the second goal shortly after Rashford was withdrawn.
Elsewhere, Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay missed United midfielder Manuel Ugarte through suspension as they lost 1-0 at home to Argentina in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
Lyon loanee Thiago Almada got the only goal to condemn La Celeste to just their third defeat in 13 matches of the qualifying term, although they will have Ugarte available again as they seek out a return to winning ways against Bolivia on Tuesday.
Before then, there could be plenty more United involvement on the international stage, including tonight (Saturday) when Victor Lindelof’s Sweden play Luxembourg, while Gibraltar – represented by young Red James Scanlon – encounter Montenegro.
Both fixtures are due to get under way at 17:00 GMT. Good luck, lads!
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Saturday 22 March 2025 11:05
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