Ten Hag believes Harry Maguire is ready for the World Cup

Erik ten Hag has backed his club captain Harry Maguire to perform at the forthcoming World Cup tournament. 

The 29-year-old was selected by Gareth Southgate to represent the Three Lions in Qatar despite making only three Premier League starts this season.

Maguire has fallen out of favour under Ten Hag which was largely due to the arrival and form of Lisandro Martinez, as well as Raphael Varane being fit for consecutive matches, as the Frenchman has struggled with injuries since arriving in Manchester.

When Varane sustained an injury against Chelsea last month, Victor Lindelof came next in the pecking order to fill in at centre-back.

However, the tournament provides Maguire a chance to rebuild his confidence and pick up form ahead of returning to club football.

Maguire has always been a crucial player for England and played a key role in the team’s last two major tournaments, the 2018 World Cup and Euro 2020, in which the Three Lions narrowly missed out on lifting the trophies.

Ten Hag is confident in Maguire

In his pre-match press conference (via ManUtd.com) Ten Hag was asked if Maguire is “ready” for the World Cup.

He responded: “I think that he is ready. I see him every day at training, I see his games. He came back from injury, but he is ready to perform on the highest level.”

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