England boss Gareth Southgate has revealed the only set of circumstances that would see him take Harry Maguire out of the Three Lions squad - and used his Manchester United teammate Luke Shaw as an example.
The Three Lions manager has been criticised by both fans and pundits for his seemingly unwavering loyalty to Maguire despite the fact that the centre-back has lost his place at Old Trafford this season under new boss Erik ten Hag.
Maguire has started just three times across all competitions this campaign for his club and all three have ended in defeat by Brighton, Brentford and Real Sociedad. The former and latter of those both came in front of an Old Trafford faithful growing increasingly impatient waiting for the club captain to return to form.
It was another night to forget for the centre-back against Germany for the Three Lions on Monday night. The two long-term rivals played out a thrilling 3-3 draw, but Maguire was at fault for at least one of the visitors goals.
The defender suffered a lapse in concentration and passed the ball straight to Jamal Musiala on the edge of the area before proceeding to bring him down and concede a penalty after a brief VAR review. Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan converted from 12-yards to put Germany in front.
Maguire also surrendered possession for Kai Havertz' wondergoal that doubled their advantage on the night before England's comeback. In light of Maguire's dismal United record this term and just general lack of minutes for his club, one would assume Maguire would also lose his place at international level as a result until he can turn things around at Old Trafford.
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On the contrary, Southgate has once again publicly backed the player and explained it would take something extreme for Maguire to be dropped.
"I know everyone will focus on Harry but there were some very important moments that Harry delivered during the two matches," the England boss added. "Luke Shaw was another example of somebody [who delivered moments], he’s an outstanding footballer.
"So what do we do? Not pick Luke Shaw because he’s not playing enough football or do we pick a player who can do what we saw tonight?
"That’s always going to raise debate but I think in these moments we’ve got to back our best and our most experienced players unless we’re in a situation where it’s almost untenable and impossible to pick them."
For as long as it is not "untenable and impossible", Southgate will continue to entrust Maguire at the heart of his defence - irrespective of how he is actually playing as the World Cup edges closer.
