STONES: HARRY IS A ROCK!
Under-fire Maguire still the right man for England says his partner
JOHN Stones has praised the way England team-mate Harry Maguire has dealt with stinging criticism of his performances.
Man United captain Maguire was jeered by Three Lions fans ahead of the March friendly victories over Switzerland and Ivory Coast and has struggled for club form in recent months.
Maguire has spoken of his “shock” at the backlash but insisted it would not affect his relationship with England fans.
Stones and Maguire played together in the heart of Gareth Southgate’s defence as England reached the 2018 World Cup semifinals and the Euro 2020 final.
Despite Stones plying his trade across the divide for Premier League champions City, the pair are close.
“I think some of the criticism that
I’ve seen personally and over this season has been harsh,” Stones said.
“I don’t want to get into that but I think how he’s conducted himself on and off the pitch, he should be extremely proud of that and, all I can say is, I enjoy playing with Harry and I hope that we can do for many more years to come.
“I used to play against Harry as a kid and I knew his quality then. I think he was the age group older than me but I got the opportunity to play against him and it took quite a few years to be able to play with him here.
“I think we hit off straight away, he is an incredible person off the pitch, first and foremost, and an incredible partner and player to play with on the pitch.
“So I hope we can keep playing together and building this partnership, whoever it may be, in a back three or back four.”
Stones is now a veteran of 56 caps while Maguire has 43, with both often favoured by Southgate even if they are out of form or out of their club sides.
Former Everton player Stones believes he and fellow Yorkshireman Maguire complement each other well and outlined their typical pregame approach.
Improve
“I’d like to think so,” he replied when asked if he thinks the duo make each other comfortable on the pitch.
“I’m sure Harry would say the same thing, the feeling is definitely mutual and we’ve always got things to improve on, that’s a given.
“We know that we can improve as individuals and me and Harry are always talking about, when we do play together, what opposition we’re up against.
“What kind of striker we’re up against and how we can build up better with the ball, how we can defend better, what decisions to make if people run in behind and I think that’s the beauty of it – how he speaks about the game and speaks about his ideas or thoughts.
“It’s not always easy and we do argue on the pitch sometimes but I think, with our relationship, that’s the right thing to do sometimes.
“If I can’t take a dig off him on a pitch and if he can’t do off me then I don’t think we should be playing together. That sums it up really.”
Southgate expects to face a team “inspired to another level” when England meet Wales at the World Cup later this year.
Wales ended a 64-year wait to reach the finals on Sunday when
beating Ukraine 1-0 in a tense playoff in Cardiff.
Their reward is a place in Group B in Qatar, where they will play the United States and Iran before facing old foes England on November 29.
Three Lions boss Southgate did not watch the play-off as he was preparing for Tuesday’s Nations League match in Germany but knows a tough challenge awaits.
Scouting
“I think some of the players were watching but of course an all-British game, so there’s that element to it,” he said.
“Firstly, congratulations to Robert Page because he’s done a super job.
“I’ve met him several times on the road scouting games, so I’m pleased for him that he’s got through that.
“Obviously our thoughts are with Ukraine as well because of what they’ve been through. They gave a phenomenal display in Scotland.
“You did wonder whether it was going to be possible to hit that emotional high again. It looked as though, watching it back, Wayne Hennessey made some good saves.
“We play Wales but for us that’s a long way down the track.”
Put to Southgate that Wales will raise their game against England, he said: “There is history there, so we would be stupid not to be aware of that and not informed of that.
“You play a team that are inspired to another level. That’s what we had against Scotland in the Euros and I don’t see that being any different with Wales, who also have some very good players.
“They are where they are, they’ve had big results over a long period of time, not least a good run in the Euros as well, so that’s going to be tough for us when it comes around.”