Manchester United pair Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw were on display tonight as England took on Germany in the UEFA Nations League.
Gareth Southgate’s men desperately needed a win after the Three Lions were relegated to the competition’s second tier through a loss against Italy.
Like Maguire, Shaw lost his place in the starting eleven and displayed flashes of brilliance and technical ability, capped off by a goal for England’s opener.
However, his United teammate and captain stole the headlights for all the wrong reasons, as he has done over the last few months.
Maguire again failed to justify his selection ahead of other centre-backs like Fikayo Tomori. Southgate has come under heavy pressure and intense scrutiny for his decision to call him up and regularly field him.
The England boss came to the defender’s defence, labelling him as one of the country’s most important players.
The 29-year-old handed the Die Mannschaft their first goal on a silver platter after he carelessly ceded the ball inside the box to Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala.
In a state of panic, Maguire brought the youngster down inside the box, and the referee awarded Germany a penalty that Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan converted.
Harry Maguire 😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/mUhLF56sdz
— SITHALE✍🏿 (@SithaleKgaogelo) September 26, 2022
Just 15 minutes later, the former Leicester man was again on the wrong end of proceedings.
He again recklessly gave possession to the opposition, who quickly got the ball to Kai Havertz. The Chelsea forward did brilliantly to score a knockout, giving Nick Pope no chance.
For a moment, it appeared like Maguire had gotten away with his errors as England fought hard, coming back into the game and even momentarily leading 3-2 with quickfire goals from Mason Mount and a Harry Kane penalty.
However, Pope’s error that teed up Havertz for a tap-in ensured that his misdemeanours will still take centre-stage as a postmortem of England’s woes begins.
