Jadon Sancho had the perfect response to being left out of the England squad on Thursday, by scoring a brilliant opener for Manchester United against Sheriff Tiraspol.
Gareth Southgate sprung a surprise on Thursday when Sancho was left out of his final squad before the World Cup, for the Nations League games against Italy and Germany.
The United forward had fallen out of favour last season but his form early in the current campaign made most believe that Southgate would hand him a recall.
That didn't happen, with Jarrod Bowen and Jack Grealish retaining their places as forwards in the squad, and Ivan Toney handed a first call up.
Sancho didn't take long to answer that missed call up however, as United faced Sheriff in the Europa League, opening the scoring in the 17th minute of the game.
A brilliant team move ended with Christian Eriksen playing the perfect chipped through ball into the box, and the former Borussia Dortmund forward bamboozled the Moldovan's defence, before slotting home.
The goal also included one of the most wholesome celebrations that you're likely to see, with the forward whipping out his shin pads after scoring.
That's because a young fan recently went viral after handing over the protective equipment with a picture of Sancho on, with the kid's parent telling the footballer he should wear them for his next game, and forward agreeing to do it, with the celebration proof he's a man of his word
His form this season not only makes a mockery of his absence from the Nations League squad but also the criticism of former Aston Villa captain Gabby Agbonlahor.
The talkSPORT pundit claimed that United would be better off with Marko Arnautovic, who the club had been linked with, rather than the English star.
Sancho's fellow United teammate Marcus Rashford also missed out on an international recall, despite excellent form, due to an injury.
Rashford's unavailability, coupled with the same from Anthony Martial, meant that Cristiano Ronaldo was handed just his third start of the season.
The five time Ballon d'Or winner started in last week's loss in the Europa League, to Real Sociedad, and was criticised for his performance.
Fortunately he did get on the scoresheet in Moldova, converting from the penalty spot after fellow countryman Diogo Dalot had been tripped, and doubling his side's lead.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 699 career goals at club level ⚽️
It was the 22-year-old's third goal of the season, having previously bagged an important goal in the win over Liverpool and the winner against Leicester City.
The former Borussia Dortmund forward is now just two goals behind his tally for the entirety of last season, in all competitions, which explains why he was dropped by Southgate in the first place.
Footage emerges showing Jadon Sancho sharing wholesome moment with Manchester United fan
Footage has emerged showing Jadon Sancho meeting a young Manchester United fan, it was a truly wholesome moment.
The United winger was captured on video signing the fan’s match day programme. As Sancho returned the programme back to the fan, he was given a special gift.
Sancho was handed personalised shin pads with his face on by the young boy. The boy’s parent told Sancho he should wear them in his next game, the winger replied: “Of course I will.”, before a high five with the jubilant young fan. You can watch the footage below.
Sancho, a former Manchester City youngster returned to English football last summer when he made a big money £75 million move from Borussia Dortmund to United.
However, his move was overshadowed by the stunning return of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Englishman struggled to establish himself as a regular in the United side last season, scoring just three goals and managing to provide only three assists.
A far cry from the eight goals and 12 assists that rose him into stardom during his last campaign in the Bundesliga.
This season, under new boss Erik ten Hag, Sancho has started well. He has managed to find the back of the net in two occasions already, against Liverpool and
Leicester City.
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