Tottenham striker and England captain Harry Kane has told Sky Sports – as per Football Daily – that he is “really proud” of Manchester United’s Harry Maguire after revealing the defender played the last 10 minutes with a “decent” injury.
England and Germany kept up their rivalry with an enthralling 3-3 draw at Wembley on Monday night. Germany went 2-0 up as England struggled for the first hour – Ilkay Gundogan and Kai Havertz both finding the back of the net.
But England rallied. Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Kane all scored goals to put the Three Lions ahead. However, with only a matter of moments left to play, a mistake from Nick Pope saw Havertz pounce to tap in from close range. 3-3.
Maguire’s form has been questioned ahead of the game. Struggling to play for Manchester United, Maguire was given a vote of confidence on Monday. But he was at fault for two of the goals, conceding possession for the first and third.
But Kane leapt to his defence. The Tottenham striker even told media that the £190,000-a-week star was suffering with an injury for the final 10 minutes of the match, but soldiered on. It will be interesting to see if he starts against Iran.
“When you make individual mistakes, you’re going to be gutted – but we’re a team,” Kane said. “H had a pretty decent injury at the end there, but carried on for the final 10 minutes on almost one leg. Great character, really proud of him.”
Tottenham striker Kane ‘really proud’ of Maguire despite England errors
Maguire cost England a victory. It is as simple as that. The first, he tries a pass that perhaps a confident Maguire would have pulled off. But as it has been said so many times before, players must be playing, and playing will, at this level.
Otherwise, you get found out. Maguire is not playing, and it showed. His decision making was not sharp, second guessing what he wanted to do. A confident Maguire, playing regularly, in good form, would not have hesitated.
As things stand, Gareth Southgate cannot start Maguire against Iran – or have him as first choice at the World Cup. But if he breaks back into United’s side over the next few weeks, and impresses, then he has a chance.
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