Glen Johnson Exclusive: Maguire Will Be Tested Against Top Teams

24 Nov 2022

Former England defender Glen Johnson claims he “wasn’t worried” about Harry Maguire against Iran - but has suggested he will be concerned when the Three Lions face a “top team”.

Maguire has been out of favour at Manchester United this season, starting just three Premier League games, but was called up by Gareth Southgate regardless.

The central defender played and even hit the bar in England’s opening match against Iran, but Johnson does not think his “decent” performance was a particularly telling indicator of how well he will cope under more intense scrutiny.

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Good Opening Performance

Speaking exclusively to Lord Ping, he said: “Maguire was decent against Iran, nearly scored as well, but he's under a lot of pressure.

“Games change form, I'm sure he'd be happy with how he performed.

“Hopefully, he can carry the momentum in the next game, have a good tournament with England and then you never know what happens when he goes back to Man United.

“I wasn’t worried about Maguire in a back four today as it's the weakest game in the group, but I'll be worried when we play one of the big nations or top teams. Then it will be interesting to see what Gareth Southgate does then.”

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No Clean Sheet

While England won convincingly by a 6-2 scoreline, Johnson says the Three Lions’ defenders should be disappointed at their failure to keep a clean sheet.

“If you're that much better than a team [that you can score] six goals against them, you shouldn’t be conceding two.

“At the end of the day, it's a tournament environment, it doesn’t matter, you just need to win.

“As a defender, I'd be fuming to concede two, but at least they won easily.”