Manchester United defender Harry Maguire described the criticism of England’s Euro 2024 performances as “a bit ridiculous.”
Maguire, who has played over 60 times under manager Gareth Southgate, was sidelined with a calf injury and missed England’s run to a second consecutive European Championship final in Germany.
During the tournament’s group stage, beer cups were thrown at Southgate, and the team faced jeers from some fans. The squad’s series of underwhelming performances drew widespread disapproval from certain supporters, media, and pundits.
“Yes, performances might not have been amazing but it is tournament football,” Maguire told BBC Sport, speaking on the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
“It is not as expansive. There are far less risks taken. You can’t afford to make mistakes or get caught going out in a full press. You saw throughout the tournament there were not many high-scoring wins.
“I just don’t know what the media or fans expected of this team. Was it to go and beat Serbia 4-0 in the first game and then beat Denmark 3-0? Did they think it was just going to be a walk in the park?”
Maguire’s team-mate Tom Heaton, who was part of the England squad as a training goalkeeper, added: “I am not quite sure where the narrative changed. Through Gareth’s whole reign as manager, there has been a real positive outlook to it.
“From a players’ point of view from inside the camp, we managed to shut it out and create a siege mentality and proved people wrong.
“It was an incredible experience but I was a little bit surprised at the outlook from the start of the tournament.”
‘Tough’ to miss two career highlights – Maguire
Maguire sustained a calf injury during training at the start of May and was unable to recover in time for the FA Cup final victory over Manchester City at Wembley four weeks later.
Another setback while on England duty led to Southgate omitting him from the final 26-man Euro 2024 squad.
“To miss out was tough,” added Maguire.
“It has been really frustrating, working all season to get myself mentally and physically at the top of my game and be in a position to feel I could really make a difference for Manchester United and my country.”
The 31-year-old received considerable praise last season for his decision to remain at United despite being stripped of the captaincy by manager Erik ten Hag and at times falling to fifth choice central defender, behind Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, and Jonny Evans.
Maguire made 31 appearances across all competitions, even though he did not start a Premier League match until October.
With United spending £52m on 18-year-old French defender Leny Yoro, Maguire says he is prepared to take on the renewed challenge for his place in the first team.
“There was a lot of uncertainty over my future last year but I sat down with the manager, he told me where I was at, said he believed in me and I would get chances,” said Maguire.
“I proved last season when I got the chances I took them really well.”
United’s FA Cup final victory shifted perceptions around Ten Hag and likely secured his position.
However, Maguire acknowledges that the eighth-place finish in the Premier League was unacceptable.
With Dan Ashworth now serving as sporting director and Omar Berrada as the new chief executive, Maguire anticipates improvements but remains realistic about the extent of United’s progress in the coming months.
“I don’t think we will go from finishing eighth in the league to winning all the trophies overnight,” he said.
“But I do think we are moving in the right direction now and the decisions that have been made at the top will help this club get back to where it should be.”