MARTIN SAMUEL SALUTES HARRY MAGUIRE
There have been some famous foreheads in english football. Nat Lofthouse, Tommy Lawton, Dixie Dean. harry Maguire sounds like a throwback to that age; looks like one, too.
he’s not been endlessly manscaped and sculpted like Cristiano ronaldo. On the ball, he powers forward, sometimes appearing to teeter on the brink of catastrophe. he doesn’t have the effortlessly sleek motion of the modern game’s thoroughbreds.
Is there a more effective player at this tournament, though? Is there one who has captured the public imagination quite like england’s match-winning centre half? It is no coincidence that the name Gareth Southgate’s son had on his england shirt when watching the game against Colombia last week was Maguire.
Favouritism? You bet. It was clear from the way his father spoke about his defensive protege after the win over Sweden that Southgate has a soft spot for Maguire.
No manager welcomes injuries to any of his squad, but Southgate said he particularly hoped Maguire would be fit for this tournament, because he felt the World Cup would be his stage, and his proving ground.
‘When I watched him during the season, I was so keen that he stayed fit because I was certain he would show he could play at this level,’ said Southgate.
‘I’m not sure he’s always believed that. his first game, he talked about just being desperate not to make a mistake. I remember saying to him before the next one, ‘‘OK, how about we now try to be as good as we might be?’’ because he’s a super-talented player. his use of the ball is as good as any centre back in the tournament, so hopefully he’s gaining belief from his performances at this level.’
Actually, it went a little deeper than that. Maguire said he didn’t really enjoy his debut in Lithuania, in england’s final qualifying game, because he was so worried about making a mistake.
Southgate then confided he had a year like that with england, after missing the fateful penalty in the shootout with Germany at euro 96. he said it was no way to play.
he talked the young man out of his fear of fouling up, and here is his reward. The moment Maguire’s rather large vertical plate — as the frontal part of that noticeably large skull is called — met Ashley Young’s flat and perfectly delivered corner after 30 minutes, england were on their way to a first World Cup semi-final in 28 years.
Despite several fine saves from Jordan Pickford, the afternoon must have been rather a unique experience for england followers. Not just the country’s first 3pm Saturday kick-off in a World Cup since the 1966 final, but the sight of the national team in complete control of a major tournament fixture.
Pickford was awarded man of the match for impressively denying Marcus Berg — twice — and Viktor Claesson, but that makes it sound as if Sweden were on top. They weren’t. england were the better side and, had raheem Sterling demonstrated greater coolness in front of goal, could have been clearer, sooner.
When Dele Alli met a Jesse Lingard cross at the far post on 58 minutes, it only confirmed what had been plain from way out: even if football doesn’t come home, england were most certainly going to Moscow this week.
Sweden were pedestrian and nowhere near their level of previous matches, while england appear increasingly assured.
And in Maguire, england have a player who, in Southgate’s words, ‘gets his bonce on everything’ at both ends — repelling attacks as confidently as he complements them, a homing device for the dead balls that have become england’s raison d’etre.
‘Since I’ve come into the england camp, Gareth has shown great faith in me, great trust and given me confidence to go out and play,’ said Maguire. ‘To throw me in with no real big-game experience, to start at the World Cup since the first game, shows that and I owe him a lot. The deliveries have been brilliant at this World Cup, the best I’ve worked with — Kieran Trippier and Ashley always hit the target area. This one was just executed really well.
‘Gareth’s man-management is incredible, too. he speaks to every player individually after each game and that is confidence-building. So we had a little chat after my debut and obviously on debut you feel pressure, you feel nervous. he helped settle me.’
Without doubt, the best team england will have faced at this World Cup — given that Belgium played their reserves in Kaliningrad — lie ahead.
Croatia have one player who england, and for the moment english football, cannot hope to match in Luka Modric.
his skills as a playmaker make him unlike any individual who is available to Southgate, even if Jordan henderson’s range is much improved and he played the pass of the night here over the top to Sterling, which should have set up a goal.
Modric would walk straight into england’s team and change their dynamic because, as it stands, Southgate is trying to win the World Cup without one of the key attributes of a successful international team — a player who can shape the game and dictate its pace. Modric would transform the
way England play and Southgate knows that. ‘I want the one I can’t have,’ sang Morrissey, and English football would certainly recognise that emotion.
And yet in Maguire, England have a quality that Croatia do not possess either.
It may be considered unsophisticated compared with what Modric brings, but to be good at set-pieces when just under 50 per cent of goals at this World Cup have come from them — as opposed to 28 per cent in Brazil in 2014 — is proving extraordinarily potent.
In Russia, there are worse things to excel at than putting the ball on the head of a big lad, with precision. Steve McClaren said, very early, that England’s set-pieces could decide this World Cup, and while he is a maligned figure as England manager, he is not without insight. No opponent has looked entirely comfortable dealing with England from corners and freekicks, and there is no shame in celebrating that strength. As football at elite level becomes more refined, teams will match each other in terms of athleticism or technique.
A good set-piece is a method of separation and that was the beginning of the parting of the ways for England and Sweden. Croatia may put their faith in the supernatural radar of Modric, but there is a lot to be said for having a bloke from Sheffield with a big old bonce, too.