Maguire Was More Creative Than Any Other England Player vs Czech Republic

By Vishal | June 23, 2021
England's Harry Maguire salutes their fans after the match.

REUTERS/Dylan Martinez

Harry Maguire featured in his first Euro 2020 game as England beat Czech Republic 1-0 to finish in first place in Group D.

Jack Grealish, who also started his first game of the tournament, put in a great cross for Raheem Sterling to head home. Further, a cleansheet at Wembley meant Sterling’s goal was enough for the Three Lions to win their final group game of the tournament.

Maguire was an assured presence on his return from a six-week injury lay-off. However, John Stones and Tyrone Mings have also been defensively solid for Gareth Southgate as the centre-back duo managed cleansheets against both Croatia and Scotland.

England rather missed Maguire’s ball-playing ability in their first two games, struggling to consistently progress the ball through the lines. Their lack of creativity against Scotland also led to Declan Rice becoming the subject of much criticism.

Nevertheless, against Czech Republic they were more threatening, with the 28-year-old leading any other Englishman on the pitch in playing passes into the final third.

 

 

Heading into the knockout stages, Southgate’s men will come up against much better defences than their Group D opponents.

Considering the conservative midfield combination of Kalvin Phillips and Declan Rice, Maguire’s talent will be crucial to England’s faith in the European Championships.