Gary Neville believes that England manager Gareth Southgate could leave Harry Maguire out of his World Cup squad. In the beginning of Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford, questions about his captain Maguire have arisen. The center-back also had a challenging week when on international duty last month because he was accountable for two of Germany’s goals in a 3-3 draw at Wembley. The defender missed the Manchester derby due to an injury, but Neville thinks England manager Gareth Southgate will now seriously consider removing him from his starting lineup at the World Cup.
“I believe it’s reached the point now where his injuries, his form… In order to protect him, I believe Gareth Southgate will be considering seriously leaving him off the team right now. Nothing is working out for him because he is making blunders,” Gary Neville said about Harry Maguire. “In a World Cup, especially this one, you can’t find your form. There are no warm-up games or pregame activities. On Sunday, Fulham takes on Manchester United, and a week later, you’re supposed to be in top shape for the World Cup. In addition to the weeks he has already missed for United, he may have missed three or four weeks.”
“Harry’s mental state has not been excellent. You saw him play for England a week ago; right now, things are difficult for him. He’s been under a lot of criticism and is quite difficult. The fact that he has performed well for England over the past several years gives him a lot of credit, and England just lacks a pool of center-backs,” he added. “He has the faith of and is wanted there by Gareth Southgate. Without a doubt, if they had three or four more elite center-backs to compete with Trent Alexander-Arnold and the full-backs for playing time, he wouldn’t be on the team right now. However, they don’t.”
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