England manager Gareth Southgate called on Harry Maguire to prove his doubters wrong when the Three Lions take on the Ivory Coast at Wembley Stadium.
The Manchester United defender has endured a difficult season since returning from the Euros where he helped England reach the finals, losing to Italy on penalties. Back in Manchester, the United captain has faced calls to be dropped from the starting line-up due to a number of costly mistakes and overall poor performances.
The former Leicester City defender was not chosen to start the 2-1 win over Switzerland last weekend but was recalled to the starting 11 on Tuesday, much to the displeasure of some of the watching fans inside Wembley who appeared to jeer his name when it was read out before kick-off and once again when he touched the ball after the game started.
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But speaking before the game, the England manager said that Maguire must do his talking on the pitch and while he can't repay the selection with goals like Harry Kane could, the best way for the defender to justify his place in the team would be to put in a good performance.
"A lot of our players have these questions every time we come together and usually it’s Harry Kane," Southgate told Sky Sports. "He usually gets a hat-trick but I don’t expect Maguire to do that! We know the only way to answer questions is on the pitch, so that’s the challenge for Harry and everyone else on the pitch."
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