Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was booed by England fans as the Three Lions beat the Ivory Coast 3-0 last night.
His manager Gareth Southgate condemned that reception after the routine win and now some of Maguire’s England teammates have taken to social media to do the same.
Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson posted on Instagram about the incident, underlining the unity in the Three Lions camp which transcends club rivalries.
Henderson is England’s vice captain, deputising when Harry Kane is not playing and the Tottenham talisman also stuck up for Maguire.
He underlined the work that had been done to restore the relationship between the fans and players since Southgate took over.
Declan Rice also started the game last night and took to Twitter to stick up for Maguire, who has played a major part in England reaching the semi-finals of World Cup 2018 and the final of Euro 2020.
Rice hailed Maguire as ‘incredible’ every time he plays for his country and it is true to say that he has never let England down.
Kane and Rice are both reported targets for United, although it would be a surprise to see both come in this summer given the money it would take to land them.
Maguire himself also posted a short message on Twitter the morning after the game, choosing not to engage with the situation.
Maguire seems to be a different player when he plays for England.
Perhaps Southgate’s system plays to his strengths or he just feels more settled on international duty.
It may even just be that he feels less pressure to perform as he is not the man wearing the armband, but United could do with him transferring his England form to the club scene.
Maguire’s United season reached its nadir when he faced his old club Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in October.
He was rushed back from injury by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and looked nervous throughout the 4-2 defeat.
This weekend, he has the chance to atone against the Foxes and a clean sheet would be a great foundation in a game United have to win to keep their top four hopes alive.
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