Harry Maguire had a night he would rather forget as England drew with Germany 3-3 at Wembley.
The Manchester United defender gave away a penalty for Germany’s opening goal, after giving the ball away to Jamal Musiala.
Maguire then gave the ball away in the Germany half minute later, and the visitors went on to make it 2-0.
Teammate Luke Shaw scored to spark a comeback, with England going on to draw 3-3, having led 3-2 before a Nick Pope error.
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Reaction to Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw’s performances for England
Rio Ferdinand had posted on Twitter to say Maguire ‘needs to be strong mentally’ to get through his current poor form.
Jermain Defoe, pundit for broadcaster Channel 4, was less sympathetic. He said: “For some reason, it always seems to be him.
“There’s a lot of eyes on him at the minute. I want him to take the handbrake off and just play.”
Maguire came into the international break under plenty of scrutiny after being on the losing team in all three of his Manchester United performances this season – while the team have won every game he has sat out.
Fellow pundit Joe Cole pointed out that Maguire can shake this error off over the next few weeks for Manchester United and return to form ahead of the World Cup.
He said: “The next six weeks are vital for him to get up to speed.”
Cole did reserve some praise for the way Manchester United defender Luke Shaw took his goal.
He said: “Luke Shaw does the right thing at the far post. He keeps it down. It’s scrappy, sometimes when your at a bad moment you need that.”
This was Shaw’s third goal for England and an ideal way for him to send a message to Erik ten Hag, that he is ready to contribute for Manchester United.
He created one chance, made two interceptions and eight ball recoveries, winning four duels.
Harry Maguire’s performance was clearly overshadowed by his errors for Germany’s two goals, but there were positive elements to his game.
He made nine ball recoveries, six clearances and two interceptions, winning five duels. However, as Defoe points out, trouble has a way of finding him at present.
Gareth Southgate should take some of the blame
England manager Gareth Southgate should take some blame for Harry Maguire’s rough night. With pressure building on the defender, he may have been better off leaving him out, rather than play him in front of a Wembley crowd which jeered his name pre-match.
Fikayo Tomori needed a chance, and was not given one, while Marc Guehi and Conor Coady could have come on to replace Maguire at half-time, when he had been playing well.
Maguire would have wanted to play, but sometimes managers need to save players from themselves when the pressure is building up and they are not in the right head-space. Last night ended up doing Maguire more harm than good.
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