Harry Maguire was stepping onto a late afternoon flight to Bournemouth with his Manchester United teammates when a WhatsApp message pinged his phone. It was the England manager, Thomas Tuchel, asking if they could talk that evening.
Butterflies fluttered. Maguire hadn’t played for England for nearly two years, since he appeared in a Nations League game against Ireland in 2024. He had never played for Tuchel and there had been very little contact from the manager since he took the job last January. “I knew if I missed this camp, I don’t think I would have been back in the England setup,” Maguire admits.
