Harry Maguire stayed behind at Wembley for almost two hours after England's draw with Germany on Monday night to hold a private chat with boss Gareth Southgate.
The Manchester United defender was at fault for two of the three goals that the home side conceded in the game, including for Germany's opening penalty, where Maguire initially lost possession before chopping down Jamal Musiala with a clumsy challenge.
It was another difficult evening for Maguire, whose place within the England side was under greater scrutiny than ever before going into the game after he lost his starting role at club level with Man United. The central defender's apparent confidence crisis continued with a below-par performance.
The Nations League encounter was England's final match before their World Cup squad is announced later this year. Maguire remained behind at Wembley long after the final whistle and after his teammates had departed, waiting for Southgate to conclude his post-match media duties before the pair talked.
Despite being booed by small sections of the home crowd at Wembley, Maguire is expected to be part of Southgate's World Cup squad. Starting roles in central defence are still unclear with John Stones, Eric Dier, Marc Guehi, Fikayo Tomori and Conor Coady among those pushing for starting spots.
This is one of the toughest periods of Maguire's career as his performances for both club and country remain under great scrutiny, with his status as club captain at United and place within England's squad also in the spotlight. Southgate's support is likely to be crucial for him.
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When asked about sticking with his trusted players for selection, Southgate had explained: "That's always going to be a challenge, especially regarding how much football they've had. I know everyone will focus on Harry, but there were some very important moments Harry delivered during the two matches.
"Luke was another example of someone who is 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 you 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."
Maguire has been excluded from four successive Premier League starting line-ups by United boss Erik ten Hag, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez building a formidable central defensive partnership. When that pair have started together, United have conceded just two goals across five games.
Former Leicester defender Maguire is no longer a regular starter for United, the only line-up in which he was named following their four-goal humiliation at Brentford last month was for the Europa League loss at home to Real Sociedad.
Three Lions captain Harry Kane said of the defender's situation after the game: 'He had a pretty decent injury there at the end, where he played another five, 10 minutes, on almost one leg. Great character from him, I'm really proud of him for that.
"Any individual mistake, you're going to be gutted. But we are a team, we will get behind each other. They will learn from it and they'll move on. They have been great for us every time they put the shirt on."
