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Ruben Amorim has admitted Manchester United will "struggle" when Bryan Mbeumo and Amad play at the Africa Cup of Nations. Mbeumo and Amad combined to open the scoring against Liverpool at Anfield and Amorim praised their blossoming partnership when he spoke after the Brighton victory. The AFCON will take place between December 21 and January 18. Mbeumo will represent Cameroon's national team at the tournament, while Amad is set to feature for the Ivory Coast. Amorim spoke at Carrington on Thursday afternoon and was asked about losing the pair. "We will have time to suffer," Amorim laughed. "We are going to struggle a little bit, but we already knew it's going to be an opportunity. When I watch the training, there are players that should be playing. "But it's hard with one game to take some players from the team, because they are doing well also during the training in games. So other players are going to have the opportunity to help us. "They are understanding the way we want to play, so if we are improving on that, the change of characteristics is not going to change the idea or the momentum of the team. But let's use Amad and Bryan in these games and we will see in general." Speaking after the Brighton victory, Amorim said of Mbeumo: "He's a working machine. He's so good in transitions. He's improving when we are organising the final third. The connection with Amad is really hard to beat these two guys because they change positions. "They are really fast, they are good in one against one. My role [in signing Mbeumo] was as a manager to explain what I want from him but it was more the club and you guys. "We can struggle a lot but it's Manchester United . When Manchester United is there... and when we feel that this player wants to come here, no matter what, no matter what the position, no matter if it's Champions League or not, we also give everything to bring these kind of guys and that was the case." Mbeumo has scored five goals in all competitions for United since signing from Brentford. --- Here at The Manchester Evening News, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis. Make sure you don't miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day's biggest stories. And, finally, if you would rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts , and you can also watch along on YouTube .
