Harry Maguire “has to go to the World Cup” according to Gary Neville.
The England centre-back has been under intense scrutiny since last season, after poor performances left him out of the Manchester United starting eleven, there were some who questioned his international call-up in the first place.
The pressure continued after Maguire gave away a penalty with a poor challenge on Jamal Musiala, allowing Ilkay Gundogan to open the scoring in the Nations League fixture.
After England frantically drew 3-3 with Germany, Gary Neville spoke to Nihal Arthanayake on BBC Radio 5 Live addressing Maguire and his poor form.
Neville revealed: “Harry is going through a difficult moment. I felt for him last night. It’s a tough period… there’s no getting away from that.”
“At some point, his form will return because he has been an excellent player for United at times and England,” he continued.
With a tough run of games ahead for United, including the Manchester derby on October 2, and the World Cup fast approaching Maguire needs to find his form fast.
Neville offered some advice: “I would suggest he does what I did. I did go and see my doctor at Manchester United. I did go and get a psychologist and get help.”
He compared Maguire’s situation to one of his own: “I’ve been there myself. I gave away two really bad goals [for Manchester United] … then six months later went onto have a horrible tournament for England.”
“My pain lasted for about eight months in football terms. I was poor, lost my confidence, didn’t want the ball and didn’t show for things … I’ve been there. Every player has been there.” Neville explained.
Despite these poor performances and the intense pressure and scrutiny, Maguire looks set to board the plane to Qatar come November.
Neville agreed: “He has to go to the World Cup. England haven’t got a massive pool of centre-backs for a start. Harry’s done very well for England and Gareth Southgate.”
Whether Maguire will feature at the World Cup remains to be seen but for now he has to impress Erik ten Hag and attempt a return to the Red Devils’ starting eleven.
Main image credit: Кирилл Венедиктов, CC BY-SA 3.0 GFDL, via Wikimedia Commons
