Manchester United vs. England: Who Would Win in a One-off Match

As a strong follower of both the English national team and Manchester United, I have often wondered over the years which of the two sides would come out on top in direct competition against each other. Of course, this fixture could never really happen in earnest, as a vast amount of the Manchester United side make up the English first XI.

Certainly players such as Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Young and Danny Welbeck, who all ply their trade for both teams, could all be replaced within the England fold. However, this would severely weaken the Three Lions and would therefore not portray an accurate presentation of the two armies' strongest possible outfits if they were to come to arms on the football pitch.

So, with that in mind, for the sake of this particular article you will have to imagine that these players have the magical ability to play for both England and United. Of course, in both cases there are arguments as to what line up really is the strongest side for both teams. Some fans will have different opinions to others and so for the sake of fairness, the two sides to be compared will be taken from the last two competitive fixtures the teams played—with injured players who would have definitely featured subbed back in.

These being, Manchester United vs. Sunderland on the final day of the Premier League season (with the one exception being Phil Jones swapped out for the Injured Nemanja Vidic at centre back, and then swapped back in for Johnny Evans, who would sadly lose his place with Vidic's return) and England vs. Italy in the Quarter final of Euro 2012 (with Cahill back in for Lescott).

This also means the recent signing of Shinji Kagawa will not be taken into account. At this very early stage of his United career it would be somewhat foolish to assume the role that the Japanese international would be playing in the United fray. 

As such, the two sides will line up like the following lists.

Manchester United

De Gea (GK), Evra (LB), Vidic (CB), Ferdinand (CB), Jones (RB), Giggs (CLM), Carrick (CDM), Scholes (CRM), Young (LW), Valencia (RW), Rooney (CF)

England

Hart (GK), Johnson (RB), Cole (LB), Terry (CB), Cahill (CB), Gerrard (CM), Parker (CM), Young (LM/LW), Milner (RM/RW), Welbeck (FW), Rooney (FW)

Originally I was going to compare each player on a head-to-head basis, and then decided that perhaps I should compare the entire defence, midfield and attack in different sections. However, in reality looking at the two sides in this manner would never really decide who would win a football match, just who had the better players.

Its crucial to remember that the team with the better players on paper does not always win a game of football. Look at Germany vs. Italy at the European Championships this summer. What was more important to look at would be how both teams approach a game and work together.

Battle of the Midfield

England is set up in a formation that leaves them surprisingly exposed for a team that relied so heavily on defensive ability during Euro 2012. With two strikers and Milner and Young playing more as wingers than as right and left midfielder's, this left Parker and Gerrard as the only line of defence before the back four itself.

If it had been Lampard and Parker in this position then that would probably not cause too much of a problem for Roy Hodgson's men. However, with Gerrard not naturally a defensive player (in fact I can't imagine him being anything further from it) against an extremely talented United attack this could lead to major problems for England. 

Gerrard did play this role with a somewhat unexpected amount of success in the Euros. However, in the majority of cases this was against far weaker sides than United on the attack.

Even Italy, who did so well in reaching the final, are not a team of world beaters—far from it in fact. If anything the toughest attack that England would have faced this summer was that of the French in their first game.

Luckily for Hodgson and co. France seemed to have another nightmare of a tournament, and the likes of Karim Benzema and Franck Ribbery could do nothing to really threaten the English goal.

Even then, chances were carved out by the French, thanks to this lack of solidity in the centre of the park. It was more down to the stalwart back four and France's seeming inability to hit the target that they could not finish England off and take all three points.

United, however, have no such problems. With Carrick, Scholes and Giggs all working together in the middle of the pitch, and Young and Valencia feeding into to the sole strike Rooney, United demonstrate how a side can maintain a huge attacking flare, whilst at the same time remaining strong in the midfield. 

Carrick and Parker were two of the best defensive midfielders in the Premier League last season. However, with a Stevie G who is very much out of his comfort zone facing off against Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs, one struggles to see how England could ever win the ball back in this area.

United would dominate the middle of the pitch, requiring Young (of England) and Milner to track back a lot in order to provide any sort of help to the struggling Gerrard and Parker.

The lack of width in the centre would play emphatically into the strengths of Scholes and Giggs, who could keep position easily with simple passes through all the space that will be gifted to them. All in all United's midfield would far outmatch that of England's.

United's Wing Against England's Wing-Backs

Antonio Valencia was voted Manchester United's player of the season last year, and for a good reason.

The Ecuadorian was outstanding all season long for the Red Devils, and this is something that I would expect him to keep up this year. As for this particular match, Valencia would be going one-on-one with possibly the best left-back in England right now: Ashley Cole.

This same match up occurs most seasons in the Premier League, when Chelsea take on Manchester United. This year Valencia just about got the edge over Cole, but by no real clear margin. Truth be told it would be impossible to say what would definitely happen in this clash, as both players are of an extremely good quality and on their day could probably take on any LB or RW.

I think one would have to assume that Cole would on most occasions do enough to keep his team out of danger. However, there would without a doubt still be times within the match where Valencia would get the better of his ageing foe and slide a dangerous ball into the England box.

Where the real point of interest occurs is Ashley Young (of United) facing up against Glen Johnson. Despite actually being one of England's best players during the tournament, many fans were confused by Johnson's inclusion over Manchester City right-back, Micah Richards. In truth, despite a very good cluster of games from Johnson, one would have to expect the Ashley Young of last season's Manchester United to give the Liverpool player a real run for his money.

Johnson's form for the Merseyside Reds was average at best last year. If Ashley Young were to play to the standard that he did for the most part in the red of United last season, then he would more than have the edge over the England right-back. 

English "Wingers" Against Evra and Jones

James Milner is a player that splits a lot of opinion.

Some believe that the Manchester City and England midfielder is not good enough to play for the national side, whilst others are of the view that on his day Milner can produce football akin to the highest of qualities. As it is, I'm somewhat undecided. 

Milner certainly does have games where he looks like he could take almost anyone on, but then he also has days where the complete opposite can be said.

Perhaps it says a lot about the world of football that most people seem to focus more on these negative days than on the positive ones. But lets face it, it's just a lot easier to remember when somebody messes up in one moment, then it is to remember 10 consecutive games of good solid play (Rob Green).

As for this particular head-to-head battle with Patrice Evra, it really all depends on which James Milner decides to turn up and play. If Milner plays to the top of his potential, then it could cause a huge problem for the France and United left-back. However, if Milner has one of his "off" days, as he seemed to for the entirety of the Euro's, then Patrice should be able to deal with the England right midfielder with relative ease.

The area in which United might struggle comes with England's Ashley Young and Phil Jones. Jones was not included in any of the England sides that player in the European Championships, and this says a lot about his chances to take on Young down the left side of the pitch.

Right now, the position of right-back is still something that Jones is slowly becoming accustomed with. Certainly there is a great deal of potential for Jones to be playing this role to a world class standard in the future, but as of this current moment in time it's still a learning curve for the 20-year-old.

As such, the far more experienced Young (again assuming he is playing on the top of his game and not as he did during the Euro's) should really be able to get the better of the United right-back on most occasions during the match. This is probably the only area on the pitch where United show a real weakness in the fixture, and could leave themselves heavily exposed to attacks.

Rooney vs Everyone at CB

It says a lot about the quality of Wayne Rooney that he is probably both of these sides' most important (and arguably best) player. That being said, the England and United lead striker would be playing a somewhat different role for the two sides.

At United Rooney often plays as a sole centre forward, finishing off attacks and rarely having to bother to set up many goals for other players. As such, he knows all that is really required of him for the majority of the game is to get himself in those positions where he can finish attacks with a goal. Against the impressive Champions league winning centre-back partnership of John Terry and Gary Cahill, Rooney managed to bag a whopping 4 goals in just two games in the League last season.

This leads one to believe that the United striker would have no real problem dealing with the Chelsea duo, assuming his Manchester United team-mates were on song to provide him with opportunities. 

Ironically, with England Rooney plays with a strike partner, which is at this time none other than United forward, Danny Welbeck. It doesn't change the way Rooney will be playing too much, but it does allow him to track back a lot more, and gives him the chance to perhaps set up his partner in attack rather than try to take on every attempt himself. 

The burning question is, how would Rooney cope against Vidic and Ferdinand at centre back? Remember of course, that Rooney and Welbeck are already somewhat starved of possession by the probability that the United midfield will be able to control of the football for the most part against the English duo of Parker and Gerrard.

Assuming that Rooney will be rarely getting the chance to go at his United teammates at the back in the game, you would have to imagine that he would have very little effect in the game.

In fact, it would be more than likely that Rooney might even be asked to drop back into the English midfield to accommodate for the lack of depth. This would then revert the English set up to the exact same of United’s, only with Welbeck playing as the lone striker, with Rooney just off him in a sandwich between the midfield.

I can’t see Danny Welbeck causing the experienced heads of Vidic and Ferdinand much of a problem. As such, despite possibly having the edge of United down the left flank, England would be pretty starved of ideas for the most part during the game. 

The Result

So how will the game end? 

Well, it's always impossible to predict any game of football outright. There are a lot of factors that can come into it that are impossible to see from the start. Perhaps United's Rooney will have an "off" game, or maybe the partnership between Parker and Gerrard will finally hit that top level and shockingly outplay the solid United midfield?

However, if one were to assume that everything played out as you would expect, then in the end I would have to imagine that United would eventually run out relatively easy winners of this fixture. More than like by two or maybe even three goals to nothing.

It was an impressive display from the England side during the European Championships that saw them go out of the competition undefeated. However, when you really step back for a moment and consider that this is now the English idea of a successful championship, it really does make you wonder about the quality of football when it comes to the national side.

If Manchester United had entered the same tournament, you would be surprised if they didn't make the semi-finals at the very least. United would of course also have the edge of playing as a unit, week in week out, which is something no international side can ever really experience in this modern era of football.

It's a shame that this fixture can never truly be played out with both sides facing their strongest teams. Although from an English point of view, perhaps that is a good thing. The last thing they would want is to lose to a club side so publicly. 

Things are getting better for England, who should be going into Brazil 2014 with renewed hope about their chances in the World Cup.

As for United, finishing level on points with the League Champions last season was far from a disastrous campaign. They will be hoping to go that one better this year and become Premier League Champions for an astonishing 13th time in 21 years.

Roll on August the 20th.