Centre-back Harry Maguire was jeered again when England hosted Ivory Coast in an international friendly match at the Wembley Stadium on March 29. Head coach Gareth Southgate and his teammates have since come to his defence.
Southgate has slammed the reception Maguire faced before and during the Three Lions’ friendly against Ivory Coast, which the 2020 Euro finalists won 3-0.
The Manchester United star was at the receiving end of some jeers from the home crowd for the second game in a row, incidents that England boss has since termed as “an absolute joke”.
“I thought the reception was a joke, an absolute joke,”
“The way he has performed for us has been absolutely phenomenal. I don’t get it. We’re either all in this together or we’re not.
Southgate told the media present.
The England manager had only glowing remarks for Maguire in his post-match press conference. He praised his performance as “faultless” while also highlighting individual actions that made it great.
“His performance was pretty faultless really. He stepped out from the back really well for his first goal, was involved in the second one too. So, yeah. The team are totally united. We recognize everyone has difficult moments but he’s a top player and he will come through it.”
Southgate wasn’t the only individual from the English camp who came out in support of Maguire after the game; the centre-back, who started and played the entirety of the game, also received backing from teammates Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane, and Declan Rice, all of whom took to social media to slam the unsavoury reception.
Ollie Watkins put the home side ahead in the 30th minute by tapping in Raheem Sterling’s cross from close range. Serge Aurier’s red card in the 40th minute made life incredibly easy for Southgate and his players, who soon found themselves 2-0 up, courtesy of Sterling’s late, first-half strike. Maguire’s centre-back partner Tyrone Mings added a third in second-half stoppage time to complete a resounding win for England.
