West Ham vs Manchester United: Which players enhanced their Euro 2016 prospects?

Five players who had it all to prove on Tuesday ahead of next month's European Championship in France

England captain Wayne Rooney was unable to greatly affect the game from his midfield berth on Tuesday night (Rooney)

Wayne Rooney

Even after Danny Welbeck’s injury, the strongest part of Roy Hodgson’s England squad is up front, where he has Jamie Vardy, Harry Kane, Daniel Sturridge and Rooney to call upon. It must help Hodgson, then, that Rooney has been moved back into midfield, where he fulfils a role that could be of use at Euro 2016 next month.

Here Rooney was back in midfield again, playing alongside Morgan Schneiderlin and Ander Herrera.

His job was to fire diagonal balls out to the wings and the full-backs who were stretching the play. His first attempted ball flew over Marcos Rojo’s head but he soon found his range and started to find Rojo, Antonio Valencia, Anthony Martial and Juan Mata.

They could not do enough with the ball though, and eventually West Ham’s superior power in midfield told against him.

In the final minutes Rooney was reduced to complaining at referee Mike Dean as the game slipped away from the away side, knowing that control of their Champions League destiny has gone too.

Chris Smalling

It has not been a vintage Manchester United season, not even close, but one achievement Louis van Gaal can point to is having a defence that holds up more often than not. Much of this has been built on the partnership of Chris Smalling and Daley Blind at centre-back, and on Tuesday night Smalling gave another performance that, in parts, should encourage Hodgson to trust him in France.

While West Ham pressed and created chances in the first half, it was Blind who struggled, losing Diafra Sakho for the opening goal, and then Carroll when he should have put West Ham 2-0 up. Smalling looked accomplished when the ball was on the floor, and when challenging with Carroll in the air he won as many as he lost.

He crucial interventions kept out two threatening set-pieces from Dimitri Payet in the first half, although he could not stop their second-half resurgence.

When United had the ball Smalling was confident playing it out and starting moves, and overall he looked like an assured defender experienced at the top level.

He ought to be the first centre-back on Hodgson’s team-sheet this summer. Whether it is John Stones, Gary Cahill or Phil Jagielka alongside him is up for debate, but Smalling must start.

Andy Carroll

Carroll has a helpful habit of bringing his best to the biggest games, and his hat-trick here against Arsenal in April will go down as one of the last great individual performances at Upton Park. But here on the final night he could not produce anything to match. Carroll worked hard, put himself about and, as ever, was dangerous in the air. When West Ham went long Carroll routinely won his headers, even beating Smalling in the air. He had a second-half header cleared off the line.

But when the ball was on the ground, Carroll was not good enough to make the difference. So it was when he missed West Ham’s best chance to go 2-0 up, during first half dominance they ought to have made the most of. He looked surprised to be put through on goal by a Daley Blind mistake, but he had far more time than he needed and yet could do little better than hit the ball low straight at David De Gea. It was a bad miss, betraying a lack of confidence and finesse to his play. Which is why Roy Hodgson is still unlikely to take him to France.

Anthony Martial

There were two super-talented French forwards playing here, each stuck out on the left wing. Martial and Dimitri Payet have both enjoyed excellent first seasons in England since arriving from Ligue 1 last summer, but here it was Martial who shone first. Despite picking up a hamstring injury at Carrow Road last Saturday, he was at his electric best, stretching play and scoring both of Manchester United’s goals with trademark quality.

The first was a simple finish at the far post after Martial had peeled away, anticipating Mata’s clever cross from the right. But the second was a wonderful goal, a reminder of why so many see so much of Thierry Henry in the young man signed from Monaco. Martial took the ball on the left, paused then tore past Winston Reid with his blistering pace. As the whole ground waited for him to cross, or cut back inside in, he instead drove a shot to the near post before Darren Randolph could realise what had happened. This is the incisive quality, and natural goal-scorers instinct, that made United’s heavy investment in him last summer make so much sense.

Dimitri Payet endured a frustrating evening until providing two late assists for the winning goals (Getty) (Payet)

Dimitri Payet

There was a moment early in the second half when it felt as if Payet would not be able to make his talent tell on a match of this size, that he would leave the Boleyn Ground without influencing the last match here. During the first half, when West Ham created chance after chance against a sleepy United, he had been played through by Manuel Lanzini only to skew the ball wildly into the away fans, having made what looked like the first technical error of his West Ham career.

Then, in the second half, West Ham started to win free-kicks in what is now known in east London as ‘Payet Territory’. But the first one went into the wall, the second into the stands. Still, Payet did not worry, instead turning his talents to providing. His whipped set-pieces are always dangerous and so it was here, as he drove the ball hard and low enough to find the heads of his team-mates rather than defenders. First there was his ball in from out wide, after one of his free-kicks had been blocked, which perfectly found Michail Antonio at the far post, to draw West Ham level. Then, in the final minutes, another driven free kick, perfectly judged, which Reid got onto to head home. Even if he does not start for France next month, he is some substitute to bring on.