Having endured a difficult individual campaign with Manchester United so far this season, the break in the domestic season arguably came at the perfect time for Harry Maguire. The club captain, who had made just nine appearances for Erik ten Hag's side in all competition prior to the World Cup in Qatar, was able to return to a set-up that he had enjoyed and thrived in.
Maguire has struggled for form at Old Trafford for the past year and beyond, but his performances on the international stage have remained strong. The 29-year-old has been an integral part of Gareth Southgate's squad for a number of years and recently recorded his 52nd cap for his country.
While it has not been the start to the domestic campaign that Maguire - or United - will have been hoping for, Ten Hag has always insisted that the former Leicester City man would, at some point, recover from his prolonged malaise. Despite making just three Premier League starts for the Reds this term, and losing his place to Raphael Varane in August, he has maintained the backing of the people that matter the most to him.
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In September, Maguire endured a nightmare performance for England in their 3-3 draw with Germany - conceding a penalty and being dispossessed for the counter-attack that led to Kai Havertz's goal in the match. The centre-back went on to play the remainder of the game injured and was subsequently ruled out of the Manchester derby in early October.
However, Ten Hag continued to support and back the central defender, insisting that he believed in the player and was confident that he would see an upturn in form.
"First of all, of course, I have to coach him, I have to back him but I back him because I believe in him," Ten Hag said. "In the period I worked with him, pre-season was good, it was really good, training and games, so then he fell out but it's also to do with the good performances of the centre-backs who playing now.
"But I can see the qualities and even after he wasn't in the team he trained really well and more importantly, the quality was really there. You see his career, almost 50 caps for England, for Leicester and Man United he's performing really well, what you see is high potential.
"And then it's about him, the players in the dressing room, the coaches, the manager believe in him. That's what I told him, I'm sure he can do it and he will turn it around, I'm convinced of that."
Now, in the midst of a mid-season World Cup, Maguire is showing that he is capable of performing at the highest level. He has played in every single match for the Three Lions so far, and has played an important role in Southgate's side reaching the quarter-finals.
He has, certainly, benefitted from the trust that the England manager has shown in him. While Ten Hag, like Southgate, has publicly backed the United player, former Reds man Gary Neville believes that the 'comforting' nature of the Three Lions boss is helping Maguire to thrive.
"He is still building performance levels brick by brick," Neville said on ITV before England's Round of 16 win over Senegal.
"It’s interesting that Gareth has been more of a comforting figure than his club and that’s not always been the case, you [Ian Wright] mentioned Beckham before, players used to have to go back to their clubs to get comfort, England was sometimes very very tough.
"You’ve seen how Gareth’s handled the Ben White situation, the [Raheem] Sterling situation, he has compassion, they believe in him as a leader. I think that’s where Harry gets comfort from here."
Meanwhile, club legend Roy Keane, who has criticised Maguire in the past for his personal performances for United, argued that two of the group stage matches had been 'easy' for the centre-back, but did praise him for the character he has shown after a difficult few months.
"Harry Maguire has had a steady World Cup, two of the games I thought were very easy. Nobody ever doubted the character of the lad but at this level, if you make mistakes like he has to done, you will be found out," said the Irishman.
The United captain has come under intense scrutiny in the past year, but he has insisted that he will remain at Old Trafford and fight to get back into the side. Should he continue to impress for the Three Lions at the World Cup, there is a hope, and somewhat of an expectation, that he will be able to transfer that form to club level.
For now, though, it is important that he continues to be backed by both Southgate and Ten Hag, with the defender showing that he is more than capable of repaying faith being put in him.
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