Rio Ferdinand has admitted Harry Maguire immediately expelled his doubts about the Manchester United captain playing for England at the World Cup.
Maguire 's struggles with United have continued this season and he now finds himself fourth in Erik ten Hag's centre-back pecking order behind Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof. Despite his poor performances at club level, Gareth Southgate never doubted picking him for his Three Lions World Cup squad.
The England boss' faith has already been repaid as Maguire has once again put in a string of fine performances at the back to help his nation finish top of their group and sail into the knockout stages. Ferdinand has revealed he did question whether Maguire should be starting but his fellow centre-back has already proven him wrong.
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"This World Cup has been a test of Harry Maguire's character as well as his ability - and he has shown everyone he has plenty of both," he wrote for the BBC. "His struggles at Manchester United were a big concern for me before the tournament because your form doesn't change just because you put on a different shirt.
"Maguire hadn't been playing much for United this season and when he did come into the team he looked nervous and a long way off the level we are used to seeing him play at for England. The amount of criticism he was getting was way over the top, but you can't get away from the fact he had not been anywhere near his best for several months.
"That meant he came to this World Cup with his international place under scrutiny too, but any doubts I had about whether he should be playing for England in Qatar were answered straight away. The first game, against Iran, was a pivotal moment. If he had been shaky there for whatever reason, then this might have turned into a very different tournament for him.
"But he made a positive start, got on the ball and got some belief back - and he has kept on building his confidence in every game since then. He was our best player against the United States, when he showed what an excellent defender he is when the ball comes into our box, and looked extremely composed against Wales too."
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