Why Diogo Dalot’s Portugal status will both please and worry Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag
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While Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes have been taking the headlines for Portugal in Qatar, fellow Manchester United teammate Diogo Dalot is yet to enjoy a single minute of action.
The 23-year-old was praised by Ronaldo in his controversial interview for having the right attitude in his development, but national team boss Fernando Santos has not replicated that faith so far this tournament.
Joao Cancelo has been given the nod at right-back instead with Nuno Mendes on the left, where Cancelo usually plays for Manchester City. And when Mendes was taken off in the 2-0 win over Uruguay on Monday, Raphael Guerreiro was brought on with Santos refusing to pull Cancelo over to left-back and bring on Dalot at right-back.
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That said, with Portugal now through to the knockouts, the United defender may get his World Cup debut against South Korea on Friday. But despite scoring twice in Portugal’s 4-0 Nations League win over the Czech Republic in September, it seems clear that Dalot is not part of the first-choice Portugal XI.
This will be both good and concerning news for United manager Erik ten Hag. The unfortunate fact is his suspension against Fulham in United’s last game before the World Cup means Dalot will not have played for three weeks by the time Portugal take on South Korea.
And even if he does get game time, Dalot is unlikely to be handed more minutes in the knockouts given he did not get a look-in during important group-stage clashes. Ten Hag will be worried about his in-game fitness levels if his shutout continues given that those back at Carrington are set to play two friendlies themselves during the break.
With Dalot currently the only preferred natural right-back at the club, his manager will want him fit and firing ahead of a busy festive season upon the conclusion of the World Cup. But his sole status at United is also why Ten Hag may also be quietly pleased – it’s better to have a rusty right-back than none at all.
Left-back Tyrell Malacia – who failed to start any of the Netherlands’ group games – was asked to play on the opposite flank against Fulham with Aaron Wan-Bissaka thoroughly unfavoured and left out of the matchday squad again. It brought to light the fragility of the right-back depth at United and maybe reinforced the need for a new arrival in January.
But until that happens, United need Dalot available and fit, and whilst he remains on the bench for Portugal in Qatar, Dalot’s risk of injury is lowered significantly – although never none, as seen with Karim Benzema who picked up a problem in training for France.
But Ten Hag can perhaps take comfort in the fact that Dalot is further down the pecking order with Portugal, knowing that he will likely not have a right-back crisis when the season resumes.
You can vote for Diogo Dalot in our United Fans’ Footballer of the Year 2022 award – cast your vote below or here:
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