England boss Southgate defends Maguire after own goal, slams football pundits and experts
England manager Gareth Southgate defended Manchester United defender Harry Maguire following his own goal in the Three Lions 3-1 win over Scotland at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Tuesday night.
The 53-year-old head coach, who has come under huge scrutiny for frequently calling up Maguire despite his lack of playing time at his club, slammed English pundits and experts and said he is disappointed at the sort of treatment the defender gets, terming it “a joke”.
“From a Scotland fans point of view, I get it,” Southgate stated. “I’ve absolutely no complaints with what they did. It’s a consequence of ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time, frankly.
“I think our fans recognised there might be a bit of heat from our own supporters, but we’re not going to have it from others getting into him.
“But it’s a joke,” he said. “I’ve never known a player treated the way he is, not by the Scottish fans, by our own commentators, pundits, whatever it is.”
Southgate, who was visibly angry, also added that he had never seen anything like the treatment Maguire constantly gets despite being “an absolute stalwart” in the “second most successful England team for decades”.
He said: “They’ve created something that’s beyond anything I’ve ever seen. He’s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second most successful England team for decades.
“He’s been an absolutely key part of that. I’ve talked about the importance of our senior players. He’s been crucial amongst that.
“And every time he goes on the field, the resilience he shows, the balls he shows is absolutely incredible. He’s a top player and we’re all with him and our fans were brilliant with him tonight,” the former Middlesbrough defender said.
A deserved victory at Hampden Park 📊#ThreeLions | @googlecloud pic.twitter.com/nUxAFjxH0V
— England (@England) September 13, 2023
Maguire, who was brought on at halftime to replace Crystal Palace centrE back Marc Guehi, turned the ball into his own net in an attempt to cut out a low cross from Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson in the 67th minute, helping Scotland half the deficit after Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham had put England 2-0 up in the first half.
The 30-year-old former Leicester City defender received loud jeers from the Scottish fans throughout the match, but the Three Lions eventually got another goal through record scorer Harry Kane in the 81st minute.
