Southgate’s loyalty to be tested by Maguire dilemma

EVEN Gareth Southgate’s unshakeable loyalty to players that have served him well during his England reign will be tested to the limit by the dilemma he faces over Harry Maguire.

The central defender continues to be selected by the England manager despite his poor club form meaning he cannot command a starting place with Manchester United.

Some fans booed when Maguire’s name was announced before kick-off against Germany in the Nations League on Monday.

And those who were prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt would have been wavering by the end of a 3-3 draw as Maguire delivered another errorstrewn display.

He was badly at fault as Germany took the lead early in the second half, giving the ball away to Jamal Musiala, then clumsily hacking him down to concede a penalty that Ilkay Gundogan converted past Nick Pope.

Maguire then lost the ball high up the pitch shortly afterwards, resulting in the counter-attack that ended with Kai Havertz making it 2-0 with a sublime finish.

England would fight back to lead 3-2 before Pope’s error gifted Germany an equaliser, but not even a morale-boosting draw will deflect attention from the debate over Maguire as the World Cup fast approaches.

“I know everyone will focus on Harry, but there were some very important moments Harry delivered during the two matches,” Southgate said of Maguire, who also started in last week’s 1-0 defeat by Italy.

“That’s always going to raise debate, but I think in these moments we’ve got to back our best and our most experienced players, unless we’re in a situation where it’s almost untenable and impossible to pick them.”

Maguire’s position may soon become untenable though, as on current form he is unlikely to get many starts for his club before Southgate selects his squad for Qatar.

Southgate will point to the fact that Maguire was a key part of England’s run to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and made the Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament selection, becoming something of a cult hero with fans.

But the 29-year-old’s display on Monday was that of a player struggling for form and confidence.

“Gareth is being loyal to the players who haven’t let him down in the past,” former England striker Chris Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live. “What will be a bigger problem is if these guys get very little game time in the next couple of months.

“This is going to be a huge problem going into the first game (in Qatar). It is a big risk and maybe a risk too far.”

Meanwhile, England captain Harry Kane said the Three Lions are in a good place heading into the World Cup despite going to Qatar on a six-game winless run.

“The mentality and fight of the team was shown out there today,” said Kane, who moved to within two goals of matching Wayne Rooney’s record of 53 goals for England.

“We didn’t get the win but we can be proud of what we did and it puts us in a good place ahead of the World Cup.”

Despite leading England to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup and a first major tournament final for 55 years at Euro 2020, Southgate was under the spotlight after his side were relegated from the top tier of the Nations League with a game to spare.

England had not scored a goal from open play in their opening five games in Group A3, but Kane is confident they will respond to the heightened pressure of a major tournament in two months’ time.

“Major football tournament is different to any other football you play for England. The pressure is high and the concentration has to be high and I feel like we respond well to that,” he added.

“We’ve upped our game as we’ve gone along in the last two major tournaments.

“We dust ourselves down, we know we have to improve but there isn’t that much time now with England before that first game. We’ll go away with our clubs and hopefully everyone goes away fit, strong and is ready to come back in November.”