England head coach Gareth Southgate has finally responded to calls for Harry Maguire to be dropped from the squad ahead of the upcoming World Cup in Qatar. The 52-year-old coach has stated that he is not ready to heed to the calls as the Manchester United center-back gives England the "best chance of winning" the World Cup.
After generating an outburst among the Three Lions' fanbase with his call-up to the international break, Harry Maguire gave supporters more reason to single him out as a scapegoat with his performance against Germany on Monday night. In what was the final Group A2 game of the campaign, the 29-year-old defender came under scrutiny for the roles he played in the opponents getting their first two goals of the game.
Eventually, spoils were shared in the 3-3 draw with the Germans, with England's demotion to League B of the Nations League also resultantly confirmed. With no international break in place before the World Cup begins in Qatar, fans of the English national team are calling for Maguire to be omitted from the classified list. However, despite his shortcomings and his sporadic use by Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag, Gareth Southgate is poised to give the former Leicester City defender a chance.
"I know everybody says he's important to me, he's important to us!," he said according to Mirror in UK.
"It's us. It's not me.
"Why do we pick him? Because he's one of the players who gives us the best chance of winning. So really we should all be wanting a Harry Maguire that's playing regularly and playing with confidence.
"That applies to of course quite a few players but he's the one that everything lands on which must be a tough space for him really. But he's showing tremendous character.
"I think he has got the character to get over this because he's a boy that been from Sheffield United, to Hull City, he's not one where everything has been smooth.
"Sometimes you get lads who, in the early part of their career, haven't had to handle adversity and when it hits them, it's harder to cope with. He's like most of us really, in that he's had lots of hurdles and that shapes your character."
According to the Mirror, Southgate spoke to Maguire and comforted him before the United defender departed Wembley on Monday night. The manager is also said to be planning regularly to be in regular communication with Maguire. There is a general expectation that the Manchester United captain will be in the England World Cup squad, which is scheduled to be announced on Thursday, November 10.
