Matic jokes he tried to make Mourinho angry by helping Serbia get past group stage

Nemanja Matic admits he tried to make Jose Mourinho angry by helping Serbia progress into the knockout stages of the World Cup.

The United boss tipped Brazil and Switzerland to qualify from Group E and that prediction came true after Serbia lost two of their three group games.

Mourinho admitted he had to be 'emotional' with that forecast as he believed Matic needed a holiday after starting 47 games in his first season at Old Trafford.

Not that Matic took too much notice.

"I saw that Mourinho said that he wanted me to go home early. I tried to make him angry! I tried to get Serbia to the group stages, but unfortunately we are out of the World Cup," he told reporters.

"Of course, he wants his players to be fresh for a good pre-season because, as you know, English football is very hard. We have a long championship, we have the Champions League, we have two cup competitions so I understand it, but I gave everything to get us through the group stage."

Matic is now enjoying a deserved break and looks set to fly out with his United team-mates to Los Angeles on Sunday, July 15. Only those players who progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup are expected to link up with their team-mates at a later date.

Mourinho has already hinted that a number of youngsters could step up on the club's five-game tour of the U.S with 11 United players having made it into the last 16 of the World Cup.