England eased to a victory over Iceland last night. It was no coincidence that Harry Maguire was back in the team.
Maguire looked back to his best in a dominant display as the Three Lions kept a clean sheet in a 4-0 win.
He stood up to the challenges posed of him, and suggested he has put his rocky patch of form behind him.
Maguire saw plenty of the ball, making more touches than any player on the pitch.
He was dominant in both penalty areas, and his willingness to bring the ball out of defence and pass upfield effectively was instrumental to an all-round fluid display from Gareth Southgate’s side.
Maguire’s game by numbers
Maguire scored in England’s win over Ireland last week and came close to doing the same against Iceland.
He had three attempts on goal, one on target, and he also managed to create two goalscoring chances.
Maguire won 10 aerial duels. The highest number any Iceland player won was four.
He touched the ball 125 times in total. England’s dominance was such that Iceland’s player with the most touches was defender Kari Arnason with 39.
Maguire completed 87.5 per cent of his passes, and at times he looked to be strolling through the victory.
The break was what he needed
Maguire has kept a clean sheet in both international games he has played. It means over the past few weeks he has had a largely impressive record.
He has conceded only five goals in his last eight games for club and country, with one of those strikes being a penalty.
This international break has been a confidence booster for the Manchester United defender. He was even able to sit out the game against Belgium.
While clubmate Victor Lindelof toiled against France and is battling a back injury, Maguire is fully fit and returns to United in fine form and spirits.
United will need him to be at his best over the upcoming weeks amid a very testing fixture schedule.
- Paul Pogba’s cheeky message to Jadon Sancho
- Solskjaer offers injury update on Cavani ahead of Crystal Palace clash
- Donny van de Beek sends supportive message to Timothy Fosu-Mensah
- Fred calls on United to improve patchy home form
- Facundo Pellistri comments on going out on loan
- Shaw and Fernandes named in ‘team of the month’ after impressive displays
- Three reasons Manchester United must start Donny van de Beek against Palace
- Zaha likely to miss United v Palace clash
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic injury blow tips Europa League tie firmly in United’s favour