England coach Gareth Southgate has valiantly defended Harry Maguire following his own goal on Tuesday (September 12), slamming English pundits and commentators for constantly ridiculing him.
Despite falling down the pecking order at Manchester United, Maguire has been a regular for Southgate’s England. To his credit, he rarely stumbles for England, but his last two international outings have been far from perfect.
The 30-year-old started in the Three Lions’ 1-1 draw with Ukraine in the 2024 European Championship qualifier on Saturday (September 9), making a costly error that led to Oleksandr Zinchenko’s goal. Then, in Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Scotland, Maguire turned the ball into his net to hand the hosts a lifeline, which they ultimately failed to capitalize on.
England boss Southgate defends Maguire following own goal
Following his own goal, Maguire has had to endure some harsh comments from pundits and commentators, which has not sat well with Southgate. Speaking in an interview with Channel 4, the England manager defended his center-back, calling him an integral member of the team.
He said (via SportBible):
“It’s a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period. It’s a joke, I’ve never known a player treated like he is, not by the Scottish fans, by our own commentators, pundits, whatever it is. It’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen.
“He has been an absolute stalwart for us in the second most successful English team for decades, he has been an absolutely key part of that.”
Southgate concluded by adding:
“I have talked about the importance of our senior players, he has been crucial amongst that and every time he goes on the field the resilience he shows, the balls he shows is absolutely incredible so he is a top player and we are all with him. Our fans were brilliant with him tonight. I feel fairly strongly about it.”
Maguire had a game to forget against Scotland
Maguire was introduced for Marc Guehi just after the first half, with Southgate allowing him to get much-needed minutes under his belt. Twenty minutes after coming on, the former Leicester City man stuck out a boot and turned Scotland star Andy Robertson’s seemingly harmless cross past Aaron Ramsdale. More disappointingly, he did nothing to make amends for his mistake, ending the game with just one pass into the final third, one recovery, and one successful aerial duel.
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