Tyrone Mings has explained what happened in a video of England training that went viral.
Millions viewed a clip of Three Lions stars doing the "rondo" - a training drill in which players stand in a circle and try to keep the ball away from someone in the middle. It was shared on social media ahead of England's 2-1 win against Switzerland on Saturday.
The video in question ends with Harry Maguire trapping the ball and allowing Nick Pope to take possession. "What are you doing?" Jordan Henderson is heard harmlessly asking the Manchester United skipper, who was subsequently ridiculed on social media.
Villa defender Mings, who was part of England's squad for this month's friendlies, was asked by talkSPORT why Maguire trapped the ball. "I think it’s ridiculous really," said Mings.
"We got to about 45 passes and he stopped the ball and I can only presume, there’s no other reason to stop the ball at that point, it was to give the people in the middle a breather. Once you get to 20 passes you are in for another one, so the two that were in there anyway were going to be in for another two when it got to 42, 43.
"He’s actually giving them a bit of a breather to say, 'That’s enough, let’s start again.' So to take a negative spin on that just shows people don’t always know what is going on and don’t quite understand the full context of the video. But for social media these days the truth is sometimes far less exciting than making something up or sending something viral."
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Maguire has come under fire recently following a series of questionable performances for Man Utd. The Red Devils have conceded 40 goals in the Premier League this season, two more than Burnley in 19th and 22 more than leaders Manchester City.
Maguire was booed by England fans ahead of Tuesday evening's friendly against Ivory Coast. The vocal minority have been slammed for jeering the centre-back, who is a consistent performer for England - playing a key role in their run to the final of Euro 2020.
"I thought the reception was a joke, an absolute joke," said England manager Gareth Southgate when asked. "What he's done for us, the way he's performed for England has been phenomenal. I don't get it. We're either all in this together or we're not.
"He's in an England shirt, not only should you support a player in an England shirt regardless, but when he's played at the level he has and put in the performances for us that he has, it should be total commitment behind him. I don't get that at all.
"For his performance, pretty faultless really, he stepped out from the back well, he was involved in the second as well. We're a team, we're totally united, we recognise everyone has difficult moments, but he's a top player and he'll come through it."
Southgate added: "I think some are influenced by whatever, I don't know whether it's social media, whether it's players that played previously who are influencing opinion... the club situation is very difficult, but he's in an England shirt... it's never been acceptable."
