In the 97th minute at Wembley, Harry Maguire made a goalmouth block to protect what was a fairly meaningless 1-1 draw against Uruguay. At a World Cup, it would mean everything. It could be the difference between staying in North America and going home.
The centre back had already been England’s best player on audition night before his late intervention, but this was the killer line to land the role. A possible starting role, too. Or, at least, it should have been.
An hour later, Thomas Tuchel revealed that Maguire was not really in his first-XI thinking. In fact, he was behind at least four others, and most likely five, when it came to his squad, including Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah, who has played just once for England. That was during June’s 3-1 defeat by Senegal, the worst game of Tuchel’s tenure.
It felt like an extraordinary admission for the England manager to make – to his credit, he gave an honest answer, as he always does – for Maguire had looked like the solution to a problem, the problem being a defence that lacks experience plus fit and in-form players. Right now, Maguire is all three.
And yet, he will need misfortune to befall his rivals before his own luck turns. Two of them are currently injured, including Chalobah, who is out for at least another month with a hamstring strain. He started the season well but has made mistakes of late. John Stones was also listed by Tuchel as a preferred option, but he has a calf problem and does not play for Manchester City.
Marc Guehi and Ezri Konsa being ahead of Maguire is fair, given they have played well for Tuchel and are enjoying solid Premier League seasons. But Maguire has a physicality that would complement either of those as a central partner.
Harry Maguire was one of the standout players in England’s 1-1 draw with Uruguay last night
…but the defender’s World Cup hopes took a blow when Thomas Tuchel admitted after the game that Maguire wasn’t among his four first-choice centre backs
Then there is Dan Burn, a Tuchel favourite who will go to the States as a squad player. There is merit in that, but Maguire has better starting credentials, not least because he has done so 60 times for his country, including 17 at major tournaments.
At 33, he is no longer a player upon whom you need to take a chance if struggling to prove his fitness, as he was before Euro 2024. No prayer mats for Harry’s forehead.
But if Maguire is injury free and impressing as he has done for Manchester United, who are currently third in the Premier League, it seems outrageous that he would not be among England’s best five centre backs, the number Tuchel will likely take to the World Cup.
Consider his freshness, too. Guehi, Konsa and Burn were afforded a rest period last week because of their load at club level this season. Maguire has started just 15 times for United, the bulk of them post New Year and after the change of manager from Ruben Amorim to Michael Carrick. That told by the speed of his reflexes in denying Uruguay the winning goal.
This is not about the long term, Maguire being worth a new deal at United or otherwise, or his value as an England player beyond this summer. It is about a player in a good place at the right time, and Maguire is timing his World Cup pitch to perfection.
At least, that is, in the eyes of those observers at Wembley, who saw a player with a real desire to take his chance, unlike several team-mates.
It is not a case of Tuchel not rating him, either. The manager spoke afterwards of his threat from set-pieces, his ability on the ball and how he does it all with a calmness of mind. It’s just that, right now, if everyone was fit, Maguire is behind five others.
Tuchel does rate Maguire, which made all his comments all the stranger. It would be outrageous if the 33-year-old doesn’t make the World Cup
Who knows what fate awaits a player whose scripts have seldom followed a natural story arc. Take his red card at Bournemouth in his last outing for United, just hours after his England recall. He called that dismissal ‘harsh’, and it was. If one player’s luggage was to go missing en route to the States, you would bet on it being Maguire’s.
But nor would he complain. He is a good team-mate and camp-mate, and Tuchel places great stock on that. Given his concerns over some others, and amid the heat and intensity of six weeks in the sauna of North America, cool heads like Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane would serve as a squad thermostat.
Maguire will stay in camp for Tuesday’s friendly against Japan, the last before the World Cup squad is named in May. Will he be part of that? His destiny, it seems, is out of his hands. He has made his case. It would be a shame were he not to be packing one come June.
