Zirkzee admits he must earn his place back at United after late Netherlands call-up

Joshua Zirkzee scored for the Netherlands in their 2-1 victory over Serbia on Sunday, yet the Manchester United forward was candid about his precarious standing at Old Trafford, admitting he must improve his performances to convince head coach Michael Carrick he deserves more playing time.

The 25-year-old received a late call-up to the Dutch squad after Brian Bobbey was injured against Germany — a surprise summons given Zirkzee had not featured for his country since 2024 and has accumulated just 70 minutes of club football this season. “At the moment, that means I am mainly coming on as a substitute,” Zirkzee told ESPN. “And in the end, I have to do something about that myself, even if it isn’t easy. Even so, it was still quite a big surprise that the coach called me up.”

The goal will do little to ease the pressure on Carrick, who returns to club duties facing a difficult run of fixtures after a 1-1 draw with Fulham and a Carabao Cup exit to Brighton left his position under scrutiny. A home fixture against Tottenham on Saturday represents an early opportunity to stabilise his tenure.

Elsewhere during the break, Bruno Fernandes captained Portugal to a 2-1 Nations League win over Norway in Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, though manager Jorge Jesus deployed him in an unfamiliar left attacking role within a 4-1-3-2 system, with PSG’s Vitinha taking on central playmaking duties.

Despite the positional shift, Fernandes remained effective. The 32-year-old completed all four of his long passes, recorded an 85 per cent passing success rate and contributed six passes in the final third before being replaced by Nuno Tavares in the 90th minute. While Fernandes has occasionally been used wide on the left at United, he has established himself as the club’s primary creative force through the centre over recent seasons.