For Harry Maguire, Friday’s match in Malta takes him back to where it all began with England.
Maguire made his debut in Lithuania but his first game as part of the squad was the 4-0 win in Malta a month earlier, in September 2017.
The then-Leicester City defender had been named in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers but was effectively England’s 27th man on the night and did not make the bench, despite travelling to the Mediterranean.
Regardless, it must have been quite an insight for Maguire into the unique pressures of playing for England, as the travelling fans took down their flags and staged a mass walk out with 20 minutes to play and England only 1-0 up, having spent most of the match in gallows humour.
“We’re f****** s**t,” went the cry from the away end, over and over again, before three late goals added gloss to an uninspired display.
“They were singing it all the way back to the town as well! We heard all of that," recalled Gareth Southgate on Thursday.
"It wasn’t a pleasant journey to the stadium, and it was less pleasant going home, I’m not sure everyone knew we had won 4-0, because they were in the bar at 1-0, some at 0-0.
"For us, it is a good reference to how far the relationship with the fans has come. The connection with the fans feels completely different now."
Maguire has been a major factor in rebuilding that connection and lifting England from the doldrums but, as he returns to Malta, his place in the squad remains far from assured.
Southgate has acknowledged that he cannot go on picking Maguire indefinitely while he is on the fringes at Manchester United -- rusty and lacking confidence when he does play -- and there is increasingly an emerging challenger to his position in Chelsea’s Levi Colwill.
Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi is expected to partner Maguire at centre-half for Friday’s European Championship qualifier -- with Southgate set to leave out his five Manchester City players, including John Stones, after their post-Champions League Final celebrations -- but Colwill has been included in the travelling party.
The 20-year-old was initially named in the Under-21 squad ahead of the European Championship, which starts next week, but impressed Southgate after stepping up to senior training following the withdrawal of Lewis Dunk, his teammate during last season’s loan at Brighton.
"He had a very good year at Huddersfield [the season before last] and we knew the ability of the boy and were interested to see how that went," Southgate said of Colwill. "With the way Brighton have been playing, exceptional at building from the back with the ball, he’s very comfortable at doing that, very composed.
"He has a nice balance of confidence but a real humility about how he has settled in with the group. We were keen to look at him anyway but were mindful of the Under-21 tournament. We’re impressed with his mentality."
Like Maguire six years ago, it may only be a watching brief for Colwill at the Ta’ Qali National Stadium, with Southgate unsure if he would make the bench, and the manager has not decided if he will remain with the seniors for Monday’s second qualifier against North Macedonia or return to the U-21s.
Long-term, however, Maguire will not be able to hold off Guehi, 22, and Colwill -- who are both comfortable on the ball and strong defensively, readymade for international football -- forever if the 30-year-old does not return to form next season.
If Guehi impresses tonight, Southgate will immediately have a decision to make when Stones is available again at Old Trafford on Monday.
Maguire is expected to leave United this summer in search of regular football -- he has been linked with Tottenham-- and Colwill’s hopes of ousting him for the Euros in Germany will likely come down to minutes. He is re-joining a Chelsea squad packed with expensive internationals, albeit under a manager in Mauricio Pochettino who wants to keep him and has a superb record of developing players for England.
"The next chapter will be really interesting," Southgate added last night. "Chelsea have got a very strong squad but a lot of players there so the key for Levi is going to be he’s going to want to play. But he’s also got a great opportunity to work with Mauricio."
