Harry Maguire ‘desperate’ to be part of England squad at this summer’s World Cup

By Ian Parker, Press Association

Harry Maguire has admitted he is “desperate” to be part of Thomas Tuchel’s England squad at this summer’s World Cup as he backed himself to deliver on the big stage.

A turnaround in fortunes with Manchester United saw Maguire earn a first international call-up in 18 months in March, and he featured in both friendlies, playing 90 minutes against Uruguay and coming on as a late substitute in the 1-0 loss to Japan.

Maguire has made only seven England appearances since what he has described as one of the lowest points of his career – when he was mocked by Scotland fans on the night that he scored an own goal at Hampden Park during a 3-1 England win in September 2023.

But his resurgence at club level has come at just the right time for the 33-year-old to stake a claim to go to what would be his third World Cup, although Tuchel has said he remains behind Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, John Stones and the injured Trevoh Chalobah in the pecking order.

“Of course, I’m desperate to go,” Maguire said. “I think it would be my last World Cup for my country. I’ve been to two, I missed out on the Euros two years ago through injury, which just hurt a lot really.

“So I’m desperate to go, whatever role the manager would want me for, whether that’s starting or whether it’s deciding games late on.

“I still believe, even at my age, I’m arguably one of the best defenders in the world in both boxes. I don’t think that’s in question really. That can be really effective later on in games, whether you’re holding on to a lead or trying to chase a game.

“I still think there’s an important part that I can play, that I can help. If that’s the case, I’m sure the manager will pick me if he believes the same. We’ll see.”

Maguire has certainly had plenty of moments for England at big tournaments.

His first international goal came in a 2-0 win over Sweden in the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, and at Euro 2020 he was named in the team of the tournament after star turns against Germany and Ukraine.

Maguire’s performances at the 2022 World Cup again drew praise following a difficult period with United.

“I do believe in my career, if you look through my career in the finals that I’ve played and the big games that I’ve been to, the bigger the games are, it seems like the better I do,” Maguire said.