Maguire: There were a few words spoken

DEFENDER Harry Maguire revealed a dressing-room showdown at half-time between the players helped England go on to beat Switzerland 1-0 in their friendly at Leicester.

Gareth Southgate’s much-changed side struggled to get hold of possession for long spells, while also giving the ball away cheaply.

Eventually, though, Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock with a close-range finish on 54 minutes as the Three Lions eventually produced a positive response from the UEFA Nations League defeat to Spain on Friday.

“There were definitely a few words spoken between the boys, all of us, we weren’t happy with the performance at half-time,” Leicester centre-half Maguire said.

“We were giving them a little bit too much respect with the ball, the pressing was bits and bobs, people going and people staying.

“The gaffer had a stern word with us and the second half was much better.”

Maguire (above) added: “We struggled early on in the game, but we want to be confident in playing from the back and we did it better in the second half.

“We want to keep on playing like that, but we do not want to give the ball away and give chances away.

“We had to stop the rot and did well tonight, now we can take it on to the next game.”

England boss Southgate revealed he “encouraged” the players to address any issues within themselves.

“We expect that, and we encourage that, it is important they have a view,” he said.

“They are intelligent footballers, and they should have a view about what is going on.”