Rio Ferdinand believes Harry Maguire repaid the faith shown in him from England manager Gareth Southgate.
To be fair to Gareth Southgate, he has always had Maguire’s corner and you can see why since he is one of his most trusted players in the England squad and always has been.
It shouldn’t matter what happens at Manchester United when it comes to a World Cup. The manager should pick his best eleven and I think Southgate got it right today — even if a few are likely to argue Marcus Rashford should be starting.
The plus side to Rashford getting 20 odd minutes is that he won’t be burnt out when the World Cup ends. In these corners, it’s always United first.
Maguire, however, put in an improved performance as England ran away as comfortable 6-2 winners against Iran.
Speaking after the game, former United and England defender Rio Ferdinand praised Maguire on BBC Sport (via Manchester Evening News), saying: “Harry justified being picked, there was question marks and maybe eyebrows raised when we seen the team but the decision the manager had was definitely justified.
“He played a part in the goal for Saka, the manager mentioned the control of the game, he was instrumental in that. Everything other than the goal he did perfectly, a commanding performance.”
In the same studio, Gary Lineker provided an update on a head injury that saw Maguire come off after 70 minutes.
We await further updates on that injury.
