If you tuned in to watch Morocco take on the Netherlands in the World Cup round of 32, you saw something Manchester United fans have been waiting years to see. Noussair Mazraoui, the guy who’s been shuffled around and often injured at Old Trafford, turned in a masterclass so complete it might force United to rethink their entire summer transfer plan.
He wasn’t just good. He was the best player on the field by a clear margin. And he did it from left back — a position United has been desperately trying to fill behind Luke Shaw, who’s missed chunks of the last few seasons with injuries.
Shutting down a United target
Mazraoui drew the assignment of marking Crysencio Summerville, a winger United has been linked with. And he erased him. Completely. Summerville barely touched the ball in dangerous areas. Every time he tried to cut inside, Mazraoui was already there. When he tried to go wide, same result. The Moroccan fullback timed his tackles perfectly, won almost every duel, and made the Dutch attack look frustrated and predictable.
Moroccan outlet Sport.le360 broke it down pretty simply: “Another top class performance from the Manchester United fullback. Invaluable in possession, impeccable in his positioning, and always on the right track, he perfectly locked down his flank.” They also noted that when center back Chadi Riad went down injured, Mazraoui slid into a central role without missing a beat. Versatile, smart, consistent. That’s the guy United thought they were getting two years ago.
Did United look past their own answer?
Here’s the part that has to sting a little for the INEOS front office. They’ve spent months scouring the market for left back competition — trying Diogo Dalot there, floating offers for other players, burning energy and time. Meanwhile, Mazraoui was already on the roster, already capable of playing that side. It just took a World Cup stage for everyone to remember.
Now the question is whether he can stay healthy. Mazraoui’s fitness has been the one thing holding him back at United. If he carries this form back to Manchester, the club might not need to buy a left back at all. They just need to let the guy play.
United beat writer types have been saying for weeks that Carrick’s system needs a defender who can contribute in possession and hold his own one on one. Mazraoui in this tournament has done both at an elite level. He’s not a makeshift solution. He’s a legitimate building block.
One World Cup game doesn’t rewrite a career. But it can change how a coaching staff sees a player. And right now, Mazraoui is making a pretty compelling case that the answer to United’s left back problem has been under their nose the whole time.
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