If you are a football fan, you must be familiar with all the Harry Maguire memes. The English defender has become a laughingstock for his poor performances. Every day there is some new clip of him awarding the other side a penalty or being a prime example of poor defending that costs his team victories. During the World Cup qualifiers against Germany, the player committed a bizarre foul on Jamal Musiala, costing England the whole match, and his mistakes have done it again in the EURO Qualifiers.
Harry Maguire’s mistakes have got mixed reactions. While some say that he does not deserve to be on the team’s roster, others think that he did not do anything wrong and should not be blamed.
Harry Maguire’s mistake costs England
England was set to face Ukraine on 9 September 2023 for the EURO Qualifiers. The Three Lions were on a winning streak having won all four of their previous matches, maintaining a clean sheet in three of them. The streak has now come to a stop as the match with Ukraine ended with a 1-1 draw and fans think it is Harry Maguire’s fault.
What the hell is Harry Maguire doing 💀 https://t.co/shgAxutWrc
— 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐫 (@UtdEra_) September 9, 2023
Harry Maguire was seen running and crashing into his teammate Marc Guehi when Yukhym Konoplia passed the ball into the penalty box. This gave Oleksandr Zinchenko an open shot at goal which the Ukrainian easily put in the back of the net. Luckily, right-back Kyle Walker gave England an equalizer in the 41st minute. Neither side was able to find a second goal and the match ended in a draw.
Maguire’s actions have not gone unnoticed, and the player is receiving some backlash from the community.
England manager defends Harry Maguire’s selection
Coach Neil Lenon expressed his views and he is not happy with Harry Maguire at all. He termed Maguire’s performance as depreciating and further suggested that Fikayo Tomori must be picked over him. “Play him (Tomori)! Harry’s depreciating all the time – every week and every month,” said Neil.
Despite the blunder, England’s manager Gareth Southgate has defended Maguire, saying that his experience is valuable to the team and he needs a player like him on the pitch. “I think on a night like this the experienced players were really important for the team and I thought they all did a very good job,” he said. Though he did not take Harry’s name it was clear that he was talking about him.
England’s winning streak has now come to an end but the team is still doing well and is set to qualify for the UEFA EURO Cup. Going forward, do you see Harry Maguire as a part of the England National team? Let us know what you think in the comments.
