Manchester United Players' Most Important International Contributions

Manchester United have been blessed with many international footballers over the years. They have employed World Cup winners, from Sir Bobby Charlton to Bastian Schweinsteiger, and a huge number of home-nation internationals.

But what have been the most important individual contributions made by those players?

As with any good slideshow, there have to be rules.

They must have been United players at the time they made their key impacts. Therefore, there is no place for Joe Jordan's goal for Scotland against Czechoslovakia in 1973, as he played for Leeds United at the time. Nor is there room for Laurent Blanc or Fabien Barthez's roles in France's 1998 World Cup triumph.

There are, though, plenty of stellar achievements to choose from.

Peter Schmeichel: Euro 1992

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Denmark celebrate getting to the final of Euro 1992.

Peter Schmeichel signed for Manchester United in 1991, helping the Red Devils mount a serious title challenge that season. What followed in the break between 1991/92 and the victorious 1992/93 campaign is one of the most incredible stories in the history of international football, and United's 'keeper was at the heart of it.

Denmark won Euro 1992 in spite of not having qualified. The team had missed out on a place in the finals, and were added as a wild card when the outbreak of war denied Yugoslavia a place.

Schmeichel was one of two Danes to feature in the team of the tournament, alongside the mercurial Brian Laudrup. His saves were part of the reason they kept a clean sheet in the final against the heavily favoured Germany.

He made a total of 129 appearances for his country, but the summer of 1992 was his, and Denmark's, crowning glory.

Ji-Sung Park: A Goal at a 3rd Consecutive World Cup

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Park scores against Greece, making him the first Asian player to score in three consecutive World Cup finals.

South Korea's best performance at a World Cup came when they shared hosting duties with Japan in 2002. Park Ji-Sung was a United player that year, but throughout his time as a Red Devil, between 2005 and 2012, he remained vital to his country.

He featured heavily in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups and made history in the latter, becoming the first Asian player to score in three consecutive finals. The goal, scored against Greece in their opening fixture in South Africa, helped South Korea to qualify for the knockout stages.

They were not able to overcome a strong Uruguay side in the round of 16, but the perennial United favourite had written himself into the history books. It will be a long time before he is forgotten by either club or country.

David Beckham's Goal Against Greece in 2001

David Beckham had an up-and-down relationship with fans of England's national team. More accurately an up, then very down, then up relationship. First came his rise and a free-kick goal in the 1998 World Cup finals against Colombia during the group stage.

That was followed by his spectacular fall from favour, as he kicked out at Diego Simeone in the Three Lions' second-round clash with Argentina. England subsequently lost on penalties, and Beckham was the victim of an absurd hate campaign from the tabloid press and non-United fans.

The following campaign began with Reds Devils supporters forming a siege mentality around their man, applauding him every time he stepped up to take a corner kick. By the end of that season, he had won the treble with United.

By 2001, he had been installed as England captain. Against Greece in October of that year, with England needing a draw to avoid a playoff against Ukraine, he played out of his skin.

In the 93rd minute, he stepped up and fired in a spectacular free-kick to make it 2-2. That sent fans into raptures, England into the World Cup finals and sealed the United man's status as a national treasure.

That status endures to this day.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Euro 2004

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Ronaldo scores against the Netherlands in Euro 2004.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally got a taste of international glory in the summer of 2016, but 12 years earlier, as a United player on the verge of greatness, he showed glimpses of what was to come.

He began the tournament on the bench, but he started every game in the knockout stages as Portugal—the host nation in 2004—made it all the way to the final, only to lose to Greece.

He scored in the quarter-final penalty shootout against England. He scored in the semi-final, as he would again 12 years later. He cut a heartbroken figure when his side lost in the final, as he would when he went off with injury in this year's European Championship showpiece.

In the end, though, unlike in 2004, this time brought glory.

Redemption was a long time coming, but it was worth the wait for one of United's all-time greats.

Bryan Robson's Goal Against France

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Bryan Robson scores in record time for England against France at the 1982 World Cup.

The 1980s were an odd time to be a United fan. On the one hand, Liverpool dominated the English football landscape. On the other, United won three FA Cups and got to watch their captain lead his country out on 65 occasions.

Before he got the England captaincy, Bryan Robson earned himself a place in football history by scoring the country's fastest goal at a World Cup finals. Twenty-seven seconds into the Three Lions' opening game of the 1982 tournament, against France, Robson slotted home. Only two men had ever scored a quicker goal on that grandest of stages.

Robbo was a crucial part of England's side for much of the decade, and were it not for the injuries that blighted his prime, he could have achieved even more success. Still, those who saw him play at his best for club and country will never forget the sight.

Jesper Olsen and the Danish Dynamite

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Jesper Olsen in action for the brilliant Denmark side of 1986.

Unfortunately, Jesper Olsen is memorably associated with the backpass that led to a rout.

In the 1986 World Cup, the highly rated Danes, described by then-Scotland manager Alex Ferguson as "the best in Europe," per Rob Smyth in the Daily Telegraph, were knocked out by Spain in the second round.

To say the 5-1 scoreline flattered the Spanish is an understatement. It was 1-1 when Olsen made the pass that Emilio Butragueno tucked away in the 56th minute—the first of his four goals that game. Olsen himself had scored Denmark's goal.

Before that, Denmark had beaten Scotland 1-0, West Germany 2-0 and, at their scintillating best, destroyed Uruguay 6-1.

The United winger—shirt permanently untucked and ultra-fashionable mullet in place—had been a key force in that side. It all went terribly wrong, of course, but for a moment in time they were, in the words of Michael Laudrup, per Smyth for the Guardian, "Europe's answer to Brazil." And Olsen was a vital part of that. 

Roy Keane Against Italy in 1994

The Republic of Ireland taking on Italy in Giants Stadium was one of the more purely romantic moments of the World Cup in the U.S. in 1994.

Soccer in the States was a long way from being as popular as it is now, but New York City has huge Irish and Italian communities. Little could have been more perfect than the two countries meeting where they did, a little over 10 miles from the Big Apple in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Roy Keane was, presumably, not all that interested in the romance. Keane wanted to win.

He threw himself into challenges, dictated the centre of the park and gave his country a platform on which to cause a significant upset against the tournament's eventual runners-up. Ray Houghton's memorable goal leaps out when this game comes to mind, but the United star's all-around performance was vintage, rugged, skilful Keano.

He would later have his problems with the national team, but anyone who doubts how much playing for Ireland meant to him only has to look at this game for proof.

Wayne Rooney Breaks the England Goalscoring Record

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Rooney is presented with a trophy to mark the occasion of breaking Sir Bobby Charlton's England scoring record.

A simple one. The merit of the goalscoring record can be debated, especially given England's lack of tournament success during Rooney's time in the national team, but the country's goalscoring record had stood for a long time, unbroken by many who looked set to do so—Gary Lineker and Michael Owen in particular.

Rooney's early start and longevity at the top enabled him to be a consistent scorer for his country. It was an achievement that clearly meant a lot to him, and for United fans, it was nice the record stayed within the club given he took over from Charlton at the top of the table.

Any list of the biggest international achievements of United players from their time in the club that excluded this would be missing something significant.

Sir Bobby Charlton: 1966 World Cup

Charlton, not yet knighted but one of England's brightest hopes, scored his country's first goal at the 1966 World Cup. The host nation went on to win the tournament, and the United man was vital to the endeavour.

His semi-final brace was eventually overshadowed by Geoff Hurst's hat-trick in the final, but it was nonetheless one of the performances of the tournament.

Living with the memories of the Munich air disaster, Charlton's courage off the pitch was matched by his ability on it. Paul Scholes would be the closest analogue for modern United fans. He had a beautiful range of passing and a thunderous shot.

Rooney pipped Charlton's England goalscoring record, something the Liverpudlian will surely do with the club record Sir Bobby has held for so long.

But no one can ever take away Charlton's achievements in the summer of 1966. He won the Ballon d'Or that year, and it was well deserved. A United man through and through, he helped earn his nation football's highest accolade and is, without any risk of hyperbole, a true legend for club and country.