There were mixed fortunes for Man Utd’s international contingent on Thursday evening
Jonny Evans, a recent addition to Manchester United, scored an outstanding solo goal for Northern Ireland against Slovenia on Thursday night, but he was unable to stop his country’s 4-2 loss, therefore ending their chances of qualifying for the 2024 European Championship.
After Andraz Sporar scored the game’s first goal in Ljubljana after three minutes, the Green and White army fell behind. However, Isaac Price’s close-range goal pulled them even four minutes later.
Before halftime, Benjamin Sesko made it 3-1 for the hosts after Peter Stojanovic’s deflected shot went in off Evans and was ruled an own goal by the United defender.
Early in the second half, Evans equalized with a spectacular solo effort that involved controlling a loose ball inside the box, spinning inside, and blasting into the top corner.
Three minutes later, Sporar scored his second goal to end any chance of a comeback by the Northern Irish. With just one victory from its final four Group H contests, Michael O’Neill’s team trails second-place Denmark by seven points.
🟢 @NorthernIreland get one back!
Jonny Evans produces a brilliant bit of skill to control the ball and finish 👏#EURO2024 | @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/b8j2b4y8UO
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) September 7, 2023
Evans said after the game, “I didn’t think I played great personally. Even if I scored, I’m not sure that my own performance was up to par. I can admit that because I have adequate knowledge and expertise.
We can’t keep conceding easy goals as we did at the beginning of the game. Regarding the defense, that was difficult to swallow. We’ve always been reliable and powerful in that regard. I was already thinking, “This is not a typical Northern Ireland match, especially away from home,” during the game.
As the Scandinavian country defeated San Marino 4-0 in Copenhagen, both of United’s Danish players were active. In a convincing victory, Christian Eriksen contributed a hat-trick of assists, and Rasmus Hojlund was only picked as a substitute having only making his injury comeback against Arsenal.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, a midfielder for Tottenham, gave the home team the lead before Eriksen set up Joakim Maehle and Jonas Wind to give Denmark a 3-0 lead at the break. Eriksen’s first assist came via a deft backheel pass that got past the San Marino defense.
Before Yussuf Poulson added Denmark’s fourth goal, which came from another Eriksen assist, Hojlund was introduced soon after the hour mark.