Despite criticism of Harry Maguire’s recent performances for the club, Gareth Southgate stated he did not consider leaving him out of his latest England squad.
The only United players chosen in Southgate’s 25-man Three Lions team for this month’s friendlies are Maguire and Luke Shaw.
Despite the defender’s poor form this season, England boss Gareth Southgate never considered removing Old Trafford captain Harry Maguire from his squad.
The national coach named his squad for the friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast at Wembley on Wednesday. England has just eight games left before the World Cup begins on November 21 in Qatar.
However, Gareth Southgate currently has no plans for forwards Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.
Despite the fact that their United teammate Maguire has not improved, he remains an important member of the squad and Southgate has given an explanation behind his inclusion in the international squad.
As reported by the club’s official website, the England manager said:
“I don’t think it ever crossed our minds not to select Harry Maguire for this squad,’ the England manager said of Maguire, who has won all of his 41 caps during his managerial reign. There wasn’t a chance we weren’t going to call him up.”
“He’s one of our best center-backs. I always get criticized for being inconsistent but there are nuances. We have more competition in the wide areas. Harry is now over 40 caps, a consistently strong performer for us, was over the autumn period as well. Hopefully, he can continue that vein of form for us that he’s had over a long period of time.”
Given his recent form at club level, Harry Maguire’s selection over some of the other world-class players is nothing short of a miracle. The Manchester United captain has had a terrible season, with a string of poor performances marked by errors that have cost his team some crucial points under Rangnick.
He has, however, been a consistent performer for England. While there was no uncertainty about his inclusion, if his form continues to deteriorate, there may be chances that he could be axed from the national team as well.
However, Jadon Sancho’s form has improved dramatically since November, and he has been one of our few bright spots. Southgate has said that he believed Phil Foden, Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish are currently playing at a bit higher level than Jadon Sancho, and therefore, he was not picked up for now.
Marcus Rashford has been dropped by Gareth Southgate for both the friendlies, capping off a disappointing week for the Englishman following his poor performance against Atletico Madrid.
He has only scored five goals this season, and he has looked out of ideas under Rangnick, thus his exclusion comes as no surprise.
