England manager Gareth Southgate has urged Manchester United’s Harry Maguire to dump his poor form and back himself. However, the center-back’s present situation in the team looks complicated ahead of the World Cup in Qatar.
Maguire was on the bench for England’s 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland on Saturday and has faced loads of criticism this season. This has raised doubts over his future as a regular first-team player ahead of the Qatar World Cup.
However, his inclusion in the match against Ivory Coast eased some tensions regarding his selection. Surprisingly, Maguire was a regular during England’s World Cup qualification campaign.
When asked if Maguire, despite his recent lack of form, was still one of the best players at his disposal, Southgate claimed that the former Leicester defender still has a lot of play with England but that his spot cannot be guaranteed.
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As reported by SkySports, he said:
“He has got us to a World Cup semi-final and a European Championship final so there’s no doubt he’s more than capable of playing at the highest level. He was very good for us in the autumn.”
“The club is in a difficult moment – there could be any number of reasons for that – so that doesn’t mean that players can be poor for a couple of years and then still find their way in, and sometimes it depends on the competition for positions.”
Harry Kane missed out against Ivory Coast due to injury and the captain’s armband was handed over to Raheem Sterling. The Manchester City attacker repaid the faith of his manager by scoring a goal and assisting another as England comfortable won by a 3-0 scoreline.
Many have suggested that Jadon Sancho should have been included in the team. Sancho has improved in recent months, but Southgate believes that others in his position are ahead of him.
Maguire is in a position where there is less competition, especially when compared to our forwards, have stood out this season. Meanwhile, Sancho is having more competition in his portion with Bukayo Saka, Foden, and Emile Smith-Rowe already being the manager’s favourite.
