Harry Maguire’s England team-mates today rallied round the out-of-form defender after he endured another night to forget at Wembley.
The Manchester United star made two mistakes that both cost goals, first conceding a penalty with a clumsy challenge on Jamal Musiala before he was robbed of possession as Kai Havertz doubled the lead for Germany.
Manager Gareth Southgate said this week he was willing to put his reputation on the line by standing by Maguire but the centre-back remains badly out of form and his confidence looks shot.
Maguire has lost his place in the Manchester United team and Southgate is facing calls to take him out of the firing line and drop him at the World Cup.
But England captain Harry Kane insists the squad are behind Maguire and revealed the defender played through an injury last night.
Kane said: “Any individual mistake means you are gutted. We are a team, we get behind each other. They learn from it and move on.
“He had a pretty decent injury and played five to 10 minutes on one leg pretty much. That’s great from him and I am really proud of him for that. Overall it was a good night. Of course, we want to win games but there are plenty of positives.”
Maguire appeared to hurt his leg after stretching for a clearance in the second half but he battled on as England drew 3-3 in their final match before heading to Qatar, Havertz pouncing on a fumble by goalkeeper Nick Pope to equalise late on.
Chelsea defender Reece James said of Maguire: “When you’re a player and you make a mistake, I feel you are experienced enough to know that you made a mistake and you don’t need to be told.
“Harry has not been playing too much, he is still finding his rhythm. There are no doubts, it is just a little slip-up and I am sure he will be stronger than before.”
Luke Shaw believes his Manchester United team-mate Maguire has suffered more abuse than anyone he has come across in football — but insists England fans need to accept he is a major part of the team.
Shaw said: “I will be honest, it is a tough period at the moment. Of course, Harry is an amazing player, an amazing character. He has taken a lot of stick, probably more than I have ever seen before in football, but he never hides away, he is always there.
“You can have people that can hide away and not want to be in the spotlight but he keeps putting himself in the spotlight and it shows the strength and character he has got because, come on, everyone knows that he is an unbelievable player.
“At the moment the confidence might not be there because it might feel like the whole world is against him. It is tough for him but us as players, staff we are all behind him because he is a very important player and it shows Gareth’s trust that he has played in both games.
“Look at the Euros and what he has done, people need to understand he is a big part of the England team and they have to accept it.”
