Maguire helps end the long division between England and their fans
for him but he moves instead to Leicester City for a bargain £17million, an intermediary stage, perhaps, on the road to the very top.
The good news for the country is that Maguire’s global graduation has come not in a Premier League club jersey but in an England shirt. Michael Owen had been the last England player to score in a World Cup quarter-final, in 2002, and he, too, was a sensation at international level right from the off.
In youth, Owen’s confidence was always high; but, around the time of his debut against Lithuania in a qualifier, Maguire needed reassurance from Gareth Southgate that he belonged at this level.
After the 2-0 win over Sweden, he tells us: “With Gareth’s manmanagement he speaks to every player individually after every game. It’s incredible. Really good and really confidence-building. So we had a little chat after my debut and obviously you feel the pressure, you feel the nerves. He’s helped settle them.”
No nerves are apparent in his constructive passing from the back: a skill he shares with John Stones. This ability to start moves from the rear, retain possession under pressure and join set-piece plays up the pitch has established Maguire rapidly as a vital component in Southgate’s plan.
His rumbling runs into the opposition penalty box and mighty headers were bound to capture the affections of England’s followers, especially as Maguire is recognisable as a player from the old heartlands of the English game, rather first met, I cannot explain and I cannot forget, Southgate you’re the one, You still turn me on,
Cos football’s coming home again.
To the tune of
by Atomic Kitten than its perimeter-fenced, luxury academies.
Seven years on from his Sheffield United debut (yet again, Sheffield comes up with the sporting goods), and two years after he attended Euro 2016 with a group of fellow lads, Maguire sounds like a comic-strip hero.
“As you’ve seen, it means so much to us all, we’re really proud and honoured to wear the shirt and to reach a semi-final,” he says. “We’re still not done, we’ve still got a big game coming up.”
His first England goal settled England down at a point where Sweden were trying to drag them away from Southgate’s favoured style of play, and his relish for weaving into the penalty area will trouble Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday.
“Yeah, definitely, since I’ve come into the England camp Gareth has shown great faith in me, great trust and given me great confidence to go out and play,” Maguire says.
“Regarding set-plays, the deliveries have been brilliant at this World Cup, the best I’ve worked with definitely, with [Kieran] Trippier and [Ashley] Young always hitting the point we’ve been working on, the target area as they call it. We work tirelessly on set-plays, we know they’re a big part, and we’ve executed them really well.”
The “slab-head” label attached to Maguire by Jamie Vardy is bound to follow him now, as the English love to disguise compliments in unflattering language, but Maguire is a long way from being an industrial implement.
Southgate is comparing him to the best centre-backs at this tournament, though Luka Modric’s Croatia will test him more than Sweden were able to in Samara. Maguire says of Southgate’s praise: “The World Cup’s the biggest stage of them all, biggest tournament in the world, so for him to be comparing me to the best of the centre-backs in the world means a lot. It’s very nice to hear.”
This coming of age is gratifying on footballing and cultural levels, as the bond is remade between team and supporters.
“I can’t speak about previous guys because I wasn’t in the squad, but I know this squad, I know they’re really passionate, proud and honoured to wear the badge,” Maguire says. “It means so much to us all and we’re singing the chants, we know the chants and we’re going along with them.”
Harry Maguire: man of the people. England: the people’s team again, which, when you think about it, is not too much to ask. The shot was the culmination of a really good move from Sweden and again, coming when it did, that was a big save at a big moment.
It was not a game-defining save like the one from Berg’s header but the England lads will have been so grateful to have still had that two-goal cushion at that