Coach Gareth Southgate, who leads the England national soccer team, once again called on his favorite student, Harry Maguire (Manchester United) ahead of the international match schedule.
On the 5th (Korean time), the England national soccer team announced the 26-member squad that will participate in the two-game international match in October on its official homepage. England, the ‘Three Lions’, is scheduled to play a friendly match with Australia at Wembley Stadium in London, England on the 14th, and then face Italy in the 8th round of Group C of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers at the same venue on the 18th.
Players who stand out on the call-up list are West Ham striker Jared Bowen and Villa striker Ollie Watkins. Both players performed well during the month of September and were called up by Coach Southgate to join the national team ahead of the international match schedule in October.
During the month of September, Bowen scored 3 goals in 4 games, and Watkins recorded 4 goals and 1 assist in 4 games, and was selected as a candidate for the Premier League September Player of the Month along with Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min (6 goals in 4 games). There was a competition for voting.
In addition, Saka, who was substituted in the 34th minute of the first half after complaining of thigh pain as a starter in the 2023/24 season UEFA Champions League group B second match between Arsenal and RC Lens on the 4th, suffered a serious injury as he was included in the national team roster. It was presumed that he had avoided it.
Meanwhile, Manager Southgate attracted attention by deciding to select Manchester United center back Maguire once again following last September.
Maguire, a large defender with a height of 194 cm and a weight of 100 kg, has been pushed out of competition for the starting position at Manchester United since last season, and was actually notified of his release as he was stripped of the captain’s armband ahead of the 2023/24 season. West Ham United showed great interest in recruiting Maguire, but the transfer did not materialize due to personal compensation issues.
Maguire, who stayed at Manchester United, stayed on the bench for a long time. From the start of the season until the September A match, the only game Maguire appeared in was as a substitute against Arsenal in the fourth round of the league on the 4th of last month.
Despite not being guaranteed playing time by his team, manager Southgate showed unwavering trust and affection for Maguire and included him in the international match list in September.
At the time, Maguire played in both Ukraine-Scotland two-game matches in September. He was well-received as a full-time starter during the Ukraine match, but he came on as a substitute in the second half of the match against Scotland and scored an own goal, drawing criticism and ridicule. Even though Maguire scored an own goal, England scored three goals and won 3-1.
Regardless of his performance, coach Southgate continues to select players who are not even starters for his team to the national team, so his selection is always on the chopping block. Although Maguire was pushed out of the competition for the starting spot within Manchester United, he appeared as a starter in all five games from the group stage to the quarterfinals at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and played in all six A matches played in 2023.스포츠토토
As the ‘suspicion of favoritism’ arose, manager Neil Lennon, who has a deep relationship with Korean players as he coached Cha Du-ri and Ki Sung-yong at Celtic and worked with Lee Chung-yong when he led Bolton in the Premier League, said in an interview with ‘Sky Sports’, “The player is “He needs time on the pitch. Maguire is seen as Southgate’s pet. He is Southgate’s favorite player,” he said.
Despite numerous criticisms and comments, manager Southgate once again decided to include Maguire in his squad. In the end, manager Southgate is responsible for all choices, so attention is being paid to whether Maguire can live up to the expectations of the manager who believed in him during the international match this October.
◆ England national soccer team’s October international match call-up list (26 players)
GK: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal)
DF: Levi Colwill (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton) , Mark Guehi (Crystal Palace), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones, Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan), Kieran Trippier (Newcastle United) MF: Trent Alexander-Arnold
( Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Al Eti Park), Calvin Phillips (Manchester City), Declan Rice (Arsenal) FW: Jared Bowen (West Ham United),
Phil Ford, Jack Grealish (Manchester City), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Eddie Nketiah, Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Olly Watkins (Aston) Villa)