Harry Maguire has vowed to fight for his place in Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United team.
The England defender is having another impressive World Cup despite a tough season at Old Trafford which has seen him fall behind Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez and Victor Lindelof in Ten Hag’s plans. But the £80 million centre-back hopes his form in Qatar can be a springboard to force his way back in at United.
Maguire said: “We have a good strength in depth in that central defence at my club, but I'm going to fight to get back into the team because I don't like not playing.
“I'm in good form. In the last few games for Manchester United, I've played well in them and won both of my last two games. But I've just found myself out due to the centre-backs there playing well and they're excellent players.
“First and foremost, I listen to the people who I should listen to - my family, my friends, the coaches, the managers I have and I listen to my team-mates as well.
“I know how valued I am in this team. I know what the staff think of me in this team and my role that I have in this team, so that breeds confidence and trust.
“There is a level of scrutiny that defenders get now, with analysis on each goal. There's always someone at fault and I think that's where the defenders are at the moment.”
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Maguire isn’t the only United player to enjoy a return to form at the World Cup. Marcus Rashford is in the frame to win the Golden Boot after scoring three times in the group stages. And Maguire would love the striker to return home with the award for obvious reasons.
He added: “That'd be the dream. I’d pray for that because that means that we're probably going to go far in the tournament and give ourselves the best opportunity to win the tournament.
“I'm really pleased for Marcus. He is so talented that he could be one of the best in the world and I think he's got to push and strive for that.
“We had a difficult year as a group at United and it affects people as individuals. This year Marcus is playing with a lot more freedom, he's playing with a big smile on his face.
“I think you've seen in glimpses this year he’s becoming a lot more consistent with his goals and his assists, and he affects games. He's a very talented boy and I'm really pleased that he's back on track and I'm sure there's much more to come from him.”
Maguire is hoping to be effective in both boxes when England face Senegal on Sunday. The African champions conceded goals from set-pieces in all three group games.
And Maguire said: “I didn't know that stat so it's quite a nice one going into the game. We work on set plays. They're a huge part of the tournament.
“We know that these big games, the big knock-out games, can be tense and tight and the first goal can come from a set play and it opens things up. Set-pieces are a really important part of the game and it'd be a dream to get on the end of one and help the team win the football match.”
