Erik Ten Hag quickly got tired of Harry Maguire’s stupidity and hiccups in Manchester United, and after the opening two defeats in the Premier League, he nailed him to the bench faster and better. Gareth Southgate still tolerates him, he even has a weak spot for the corpulent stopper, and started him against Germany. Determined to prove to everybody, including his colleague in Manchester that Maguire is in fact a great defender, Southgate included him in the starting 11, only to hear the Wembley crowd booing his players as soon as he came out of the tunnel. United’s captain ’repaid’ his manager’s trust by making two costly mistakes, which resulted with two out of three Germany goals.NATIONS LEAGUE: From 0-2 down to 3-2 up, England failed to win against GermanyAt the press conference after the 3:3 draw at Wembley, reporters immediately bombarded Southgate with questions aimed at whether he would rely on the more experienced footballers he trusts, alluding to Maguire in particular. England managed couldn’t and didn’t want to admit he was wrong and spoke about Harry and Luke Shaw.”That’s always going to be a challenge, especially regarding how much football they’ve had. I know everyone will focus on Harry, but there were some very important moments Harry delivered during the two matches. Luke was another example of someone who is an outstanding footballer, so what do we do – not pick Luke Shaw because he’s not playing enough football or do we pick a player who can do what you saw tonight? That’s always going to raise debate, but I think in these moments we’ve got to back our best and are most experienced players, unless we’re in a situation where it’s almost untenable and impossible to pick them” said Southgate, clearly stating that he intends to start Maguire at the World Cup.Maguire: “People criticise me for clicks.”Also Maguire: Loses the ball and then concedes a penalty for Germany’s 1st goal.Loses the ball again for Germany’s 2nd goal. pic.twitter.com/OgcDgft682— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) September 26, 2022 England manager is under heavy criticism for really terrible Nations League display (not a single win in the group stage) and EURO 2020 finals is already vanished in the mind of an average national team’s fan, who is now very critical of Southgate, especially with his defensive oriented mind. But, former Middlesbrough defender is determined not to change anything ahead of the World Cup, risking the possible sack, in case his team doesn’t get a good result.„I don’t think the system was responsible for any of the goals. I think that’s clear. So we were a bit naïve on the counter for the second, and the first and the third are individual errors. So in the end what pleased me was the threat we looked playing in that system. People are going to have an opinion, but I think it’s the best way for us. I have to accept there’s going to be a huge amount of noise, there has been, around individual and team selections, but if I’m going to be wishy-washy, change my mind, and not give us the best chance of winning, then it’s pointless me doing it. I think the players are committed to it, they know the more we play it the more comfortable we’ll be“ said Southgate.What does relegation from the Nations League means for EnglandAfter some painful defeats, England’s draw at Wembley against Germany looks like a win, especially after showing some aggressiveness and offensive display while being 0-2 down. And even thou they actually played great only for the last 40 minutes, the fact remains they were better and should have won the game, if it wasn’t for Nick Pope’s costly error in the 87th minute.„We showed character and quality tonight and the crowd came with us. So, we’re 2-0 down looking into a difficult moment but I’ve got to say the players have been fantastic the last few days. They’ve taken some individual responsibility. They’ve collectively talked as a group on their own, with us, and the whole experience has been one we needed, I think, to grow the next part as a team because you’re going to have pressure in a World Cup. You can try and avoid pressure but it’s coming. Maybe it’s the third group game, maybe it’s a quarter-final – whatever it might be, it’s coming. So, better that we feel it and we learn how to deal with it. We talked about how we needed to react if Germany score tonight and the players reacted in the right way. We showed some character but also a lot of quality in the chances we created throughout the whole game and particularly for the goals we scored“ said Southgate. ##NAJAVA_MECA_6676892##
