Manchester United captain Harry Maguire hailed England centre-back partner John Stones after the Three Lions booked their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 3-0 win over Senegal in Qatar on Sunday evening.
After a slow start to the contest, England got their noses in front through Jordan Henderson seven minutes before the break, ahead of captain Harry Kane opening his account for the tournament in first-half stoppage time. Arsenal ace Bukayo Saka added the Three Lions' third goal 12 minutes after the interval to put the seal on another impressive performance, setting up a quarter-final showdown with France on Saturday.
Although neither of them got on the scoresheet, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden were the architects of England's goals, each producing outstanding performances. The former was pretty much central to everything the Three Lions did and left supporters drooling over his potential.
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But while Bellingham and Manchester City star Foden were considered as the standout performers, Maguire and Stones, in the heart of the defence, played key roles in helping England record a third successive clean sheet in Qatar. Although a momentary lapse in concentration and a dodgy penalty decision denied them a clean sheet in their opening game against Iran a fortnight ago, the Three Lions have been defensively sound so far.
Maguire and Stones have been rock solid, with the former fully justifying why manager Gareth Southgate never planned to axe from his plans, despite his struggles at United this season. Alongside Stones, Maguire has a partner he can rely on, with the pair of them often having excelled alongside each other at international level.
And the United centre-back made his appreciation for Stones known in an Instagram post in the aftermath of the win over Senegal. Although the post only amounted to two words, it was clear that Maguire was making his thoughts of Stones abundantly clear.
Sharing a picture of the duo, Maguire wrote: "My partner."
The duo have developed a trusted and strong relationship on England duty in recent years, playing key roles in the recent successes the Three Lions have enjoyed at major tournaments. England have become defensively solid and one of the hardest sides to get the better of over the last few years, highlighted by their tally of eight clean sheets in their last 11 games at major tournaments, dating back to the start of the delayed European Championship last year.
With goalkeeper Jordan Pickford behind Maguire and Stones marshalling the defence, Southgate has developed a bedrock that he can rely on.
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