Gary Neville has dismissed the idea Harry Maguire representing England while Trent Alexander-Arnold and others miss out is unfair, insisting the Manchester United is being picked due to his status as one of the greatest defenders in England.
Maguire gave a clumsy penalty for Germany's first goal against the Three Lions yesterday evening and was then dispossessed in defence, enabling the away side to spark a counter-attack and score their second of the night. The United captain also started Friday's UEFA Nations defeat by Italy, despite losing his place at club level.
Southgate has ignored options such as AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori and Arsenal's Ben White, both of whom are impressing on a regular for their respective sides, and denied Alexander-Arnold the chance to prove his quality in what was a dead-rubber contest at Wembley.
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The England boss has come under criticism for appearing to stand by certain players regardless of their situation at their club, despite stating in 2017 he would 'never pick on reputation'. Asked ahead of yesterday's match if the 52-year-old should be picking players more on form as opposed to what they have achieved in the past, Neville responded : "I don't know any England manager over the last 30 years that has picked more on form than Gareth Southgate, irrespective of what club you come from.
"He has been fair and equal all the way through. He supports Harry Maguire quite simply because he is one of the best two or three centre-backs in the country," continued the ex-Red Devils defender.
"We don't have a strong pool of centre-backs. We used to have lots of goalkeepers, lots of centre-backs and we don't have that anymore. So we see Eric Dier, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Tyrone Mings and a couple more but nothing that really stands out. Harry Maguire's performances for England have been outstanding over a number of years and I can see why he is still selecting him."
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