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Gareth Southgate reveals England opted for “experienced” Manchester United star Harry Maguire in World Cup squad
Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire was picked by Gareth Southgate in the England World Cup squad due to his experience. The 29-year-old is one of the 26 players set to represent the Three Lions in Qatar.
The defender has not had the best of times in a red shirt in recent months. Since last season, he has been underwhelming in the Old Trafford side’s backline.
However, speaking to the media about picking Maguire via Manchester Evening News, Southgate does not feel other players have done enough to pip the 29-year-old from the national setup.
“We’ve picked our more experienced defenders, and we think at this moment in time, the younger ones have got some really good qualities but we don’t think they’ve quite done enough to push the more experienced ones out.”
The former Leicester City defender was signed by the Red Devils in the summer of 2019. His performances at the 2018 World Cup in Russia had caught a lot of people’s eyes.
Initially, Maguire was decent for United in the defence. And the 29-year-old was handed the captain’s armband by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a few months after his signing.
The centre-back went on to represent England in Euro 2020. And he was one of the standout performers of the tournament as the Three Lions made it to the final. However, they lost to Italy in the penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium.
Since then, Maguire has had a torrid time in the Red Devils’ backline. He made a number of high-profile errors in the previous campaign as we finished sixth in the Premier League.
Our captain was handed starts in the first two fixtures of the 2022/23 season by Erik ten Hag. However, after the losses to Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, the 29-year-old has found himself out of the Dutch manager’s plans.
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Maguire started for Southgate during the last international break in the games against Italy and Germany. But it remains to be seen whether the English manager trusts the 29-year-old to feature at the World Cup.
