Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson has branded Harry Maguire as a “world class centre-back” and has retracted his theory that the defender should not start for the Three Lions.
The Manchester United captain has played superbly for his country in all four World Cup matches and helped the side keep a third clean sheet of the tournament in Sunday’s 3-0 last 16 win over Senegal.
Maguire had been limited to irregular game time in the lead up to Qatar having still played second fiddle to Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, prior to his knee problem. An injury of his own in September had only seen him return in late October.
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The 29-year-old had picked up his issue in England’s 3-3 Nations League draw with Germany, during which he gave away a penalty and was at fault for another goal. All of this led to calls for Maguire not to start in the World Cup.
However, Southgate displayed his faith in the centre-half who he said had “never let his country down”. He is reaping the rewards of his trust as England prepare for an epic quarter-final bout with France on Saturday.
Ex-England head coach Eriksson had initially backed the calls for Maguire to be dropped but has now conceded he was wrong in his judgement given his performances in Qatar. “I'm very happy that Harry Maguire has proved me wrong when I said he shouldn't start,” he admitted to Football Betting.
“He's proved again he's a very good international player once again and he missed some passes yesterday but on the whole he was very good. I'm happy that I was wrong and he's showing the world that he can be a very world class centre back."
Eriksson failed to get England past the quarter-finals of a major tournament during their ‘golden generation’ in the 2000s but the expected pessimism that bled out of those years, and beyond, have been replaced with hope and ambition in Southgate’s men.
A win against France, and Maguire could be playing in his third major international semi-final in four years.
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