2 years ago
HARRY MAGUIRE has spoken out in support of England manager Gareth Southgate, who is under fire.
The 4-0 loss to Hungary at Old Trafford was "terrible," according to Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, with several fans and analysts clamoring for Southgate's dismissal.
Harry Maguire, a defender, believes Gareth Southgate, who is under pressure, can lead England to a credible World Cup push this winter.
After Hungary blitzed to a 4-0 win at Molineux, Jude Bellingham and Marc Guehi, with Kalvin Phillips behind them, appeared stunned.
But Maguire, a 29-year-old centre-back who came on as a substitute in Tuesday's defeat, believes the Three Lions are still on the right track.
"Gareth is the most successful England manager since Sir Alf Ramsey in 1966," Maguire stated. We're all looking forward to working with him and the rest of the backroom staff at the World Cup." His management track record is as good as anyone in world football right now.
"There's no reason why we can't compete at a high level, and our goal is to improve on our prior tournament results."
England sits bottom of the Nations League after four games, a terrible end to the season.
The Three Lions were defeated by Hungary twice and drew with Germany and Italy.
Southgate's team has just two matches in September, against Germany and Italy, before the World Cup start against Iran on November 21 in Qatar.
"We deserved better from the previous three games," Maguire remarked, "but it wasn't acceptable against Hungary on Tuesday."
That is something we are all aware of. Everyone needs a rest and a recharge now and then. Despite the results, the camp's spirit has been high."
The centre-back has also become a focus of United and England supporters' ire.
When he came in to replace Bukayo Saka in the 85th minute at Molineux, he was booed.
When asked about the harsh reaction from enraged fans, Southgate responded, "In fairness, that was intended at me." We're down three goals after I took off one attacker.
I replaced an attacker with a defender.
"However, by that point, we needed to unite since we were disconnected." We'd whittled our number down to ten. You have no chance of winning the game.
And you have to attempt to keep the players on the field safe."
So I didn't take that as a dig at Harry. With us, he's had three outstanding performances. He's taken a big stride ahead in terms of how he'll feel when he leaves this camp."
Southgate has the FA's complete support after signing a new contract that will keep him in charge until 2024.
They need to relax, they need to get away from it all, and they need to clear their thoughts.
"Some of them weren't in great form to play," says the coach. However, they all desired to be present to encourage one another. So, in terms of Hungary's defeat, everything has to go my way, not theirs."
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