Harry Maguire has labelled the criticism of England’s performances at Euro 2024 as ‘ridiculous’. The Three Lions went all the way to their second consecutive final at the European Championships under Gareth Southgate, after never previously going beyond the semi-finals prior to Euro 2020. However, England and now-former manager Southgate still came under immense criticism […]
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Harry Maguire has labelled the criticism of England’s performances at Euro 2024 as ‘ridiculous’.
The Three Lions went all the way to their second consecutive final at the European Championships under Gareth Southgate, after never previously going beyond the semi-finals prior to Euro 2020.
However, England and now-former manager Southgate still came under immense criticism from supporters and pundits alike for the manner of their performances. Southgate even endured plastic cups being thrown at him by some fans in attendance at their 0-0 group stage draw with Slovenia.
Southgate has, of course, since resigned but has been defended by one of his most loyal generals during his reign, Maguire, who has questioned what more people wanted from a team that reached another final.
“[Criticism] was a bit ridiculous. Yes, performances might not have been amazing but it is tournament football,” Maguire told BBC Sport. “It is not as expansive. There are far less risks taken.
“You can’t afford to make mistakes or get caught going out in a full press. You saw throughout the tournament there were not many high-scoring wins.
“I just don’t know what the media or fans expected of this team. Was it to go and beat Serbia 4-0 in the first game and then beat Denmark 3-0? Did they think it was just going to be a walk in the park?”
Maguire was a stalwart for England in the Southgate era, playing a prominent role in their runs to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, third place at the 2019 Uefa Nations League finals and the final of Euro 2020.
The Man Utd centre-back made the provisional squad for the trip to Germany this summer as well, but was forced out of the reckoning thanks to a muscle injury.
Maguire admits that disappointment was as hard as it’s got in his career to date.
“It was a real tough moment in my career. It was probably the toughest moment in my career to date,” Maguire told Sky Sports.
“To get myself into a position where all year I’ve worked hard to play at the end of the season and to play in these big games, cup finals and then to go to the Euros and try to win the tournament for my country.
“I felt like I got myself in a great position physically and mentally to go and perform at the highest level, and to face the setback I did with the injury, it was a real tough moment for me.”
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