Gareth Southgate reveals the only scenario in which he would axe Harry Maguire from England team. Despite Harry Maguire’s most recent mistake against Germany, England manager Gareth Southgate has once again stood by the center back, saying it would take an exceptional circumstance to fire him.
Despite no longer being in the starting lineup for Erik ten Hag’s national team, the Manchester United captain was nonetheless chosen for the games against Italy and Germany.
But on Monday night at Wembley, he once again found himself in the spotlight for the wrong reasons after giving the opposition a penalty early in the second half.
After Jamal Musiala received a bad ball from Maguire out of the back, the young Bayern Munich player was hauled down inside the area, and the referee pointed to the spot after reviewing VAR.
Southgate has come under fire for his support of the United defender but insists he will continue backing Maguire, saying there were aspects of his performances against Germany and Italy which were impressive and it would take something drastic to alter his opinion.
Asked about Maguire’s latest error – and lack of game time for United – at his post-match press conference, Southgate said: ‘I know everyone will focus on Harry but there were some very important moments that Harry delivered during the two matches.
Gareth Southgate reveals the only scenario in which he would axe Harry Maguire from England team. Luke Shaw was another person who “delivered moments,” and he is a superb football player.
What should we do now? Luke Shaw shouldn’t be selected because he doesn’t play enough football, or should we choose a man capable of what we saw tonight?
“That’s always going to spark discussion, but I think in these situations we’ve got to support our best and most experienced players unless we’re in a scenario where it’s nearly difficult and untenable to pick them.”
Reece James lent his backing to both Maguire and the goalie Nick Pope, who turned a soft long-range attempt into Kai Havertz’s late equalizer for Germany.
The Chelsea defender said: ‘I think when you’re playing and you make a mistake I feel like you’re experienced enough to know you made a mistake and you don’t need to be told.
‘Harry hasn’t been playing too much this season, he’s still finding his rhythm, but we know the quality he has – and the quality Popey has.
‘So there’s no doubts [about them], it’s just a little slip up and I’m sure they will bounce back and be strong moving forward.’
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