Even when Harry Maguire isn’t playing, we still find ways to talk about him. Even when he’s not on the field. The reason for this is that England now have an issue with their central defense, and unintentionally, Maguire is still at the center of it.
John Stones is a mainstay for Gareth Southgate, and the innovative skills that he possesses make it almost certain that he will be selected for both his club, Manchester City, and his country. However, it is currently unknown who will compete alongside Stones at the European Championships during the following summer. Maguire has very seldom failed to come through for England. In point of fact, he has participated in three quite successful major events.
However, given that he does not play for Manchester United very much and that even when he does, it is typically unsettling to watch him play, his participation at the international level cannot be justified. This was another night of tryouts for Southgate here against Australia, and the harsh reality is that none of Lewis Dunk, Fikayo Tomori, or Levi Colwill truly left an impression that will stick with Southgate in the long run.
Dunk was good, but far from perfect. He flourished under the coaching of Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton, and he brings outstanding passing talents to the table. Dunk was decent, but not flawless. Even while he can get the ball between the lines quickly, his positioning isn’t always great, which is a concern. This was the situation on Sunday, in the 2-2 draw against Liverpool, in which he scored, when he was responsible for Mohamed Salah’s equalizer after aggressively attempting to intercept the ball ahead of Luis Diaz. This led to the goal that leveled the game.
When in one’s possession, Dunk is difficult to investigate thoroughly. It needs to be seen whether or not he can be relied upon throughout the European Championships, despite the fact that he uses and manipulates the ball quickly and, more importantly, with both feet. There is a sense that something is still up for grabs here. It’s possible that we should hold off on passing judgment until the end of the campaign, but right now, he’s the best of a very lousy group.
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In the meanwhile, Tomori has been had to exercise patience in order to get opportunities at the international level. This is despite the fact that he excelled in Italy, where he won Serie A with AC Milan during the previous season. Now, it appears as though he has at least worked his way into reckoning, but once again, this was not a spectacular showing as the England backline was repeatedly dragged out of joint in the first half of the game.
This was in part due to the fact that Trent Alexander-Arnold was given the freedom to make runs into the middle of the field for England, which at times left them open to counterattacks and in an extremely vulnerable position defensively. Colwill, who was starting his debut game for England and playing left back, struggled as well as the Three Lions continued to give up a number of significant opportunities in the first half. To our great relief, none of those were punished in any way.