Harry Maguire faced an agonising wait to discover his England fate
Harry Maguire faced an agonising wait to discover his England fate (Image: Getty)
Harry Maguire spent 40 agonising minutes with his World Cup dreams hanging in the balance. The defender revealed the whirlwind of emotions he went through after receiving a WhatsApp message from Thomas Tuchel just before Manchester United's flight to Bournemouth last Thursday, ahead of their Premier League clash. Maguire was adamant that if he didn't make this squad, his remarkable England career would be finished, yet it still ended with his mum shedding tears over the phone.
At 33, Maguire is so passionate about representing England that he never abandoned his dream of participating in this summer's World Cup, even during his international exile through his most challenging days at Old Trafford. England manager Tuchel made a few calls to key players before either including them or excluding them from the 35-man squad for the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan.
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Maguire stated: "When I received the text I was just about to take off, so I texted him back, saying: 'Just about to take off to Bournemouth.'
"I was on the plane obviously thinking. That 40 minutes was a long flight to Bournemouth! I didn't know if he was ringing me up and saying you've just missed out.
"I knew if I missed this camp, I don't think I would have been back in the England set-up. It felt a bit like my first call-up, really.
"I've played 60-odd games for England, been to three major tournaments but when you're in the moment and you're playing every game for England... you don't want to say you take it for granted, but you get comfortable with the set-up.
"And then when it's taken away from you all of a sudden, it hurts. You see the team doing so well in qualifying, they've done amazing so yeah it was an amazing feeling.
"My mum rang me up crying, bless her. She was in Spain on holidays with my nephew and she rang me up crying. I don't know how many drinks she'd had."
Maguire was undeniably the best feel-good story of this squad, the lion-hearted England supporter back in the set-up after 18 months away since his last cap.
From the remarkable journey to the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and the heartbreak of the Euros in 2021, the nation has embraced Maguire wholeheartedly. He is living the dream.
Maguire is back in the squad ahead of this week's international friendlies
Maguire is back in the squad ahead of this week's international friendlies (Image: Getty)
He missed out on the Euros in 2024 as he ran out of time to demonstrate his fitness. He has not represented England since September 2024. Even he acknowledges he was starting to believe his opportunity had passed.
"There was a point," said Maguire when asked whether he thought he had played his last game for England. "Probably at the end of last season when I wasn't picked in the summer camp.
"I'm in a position now in my career where it is not so much about myself, not so much about the individual. I am 33 years old. I am just about the team now, helping the team move forward and to win something.
"If I play one minute at the World Cup or every game of the World Cup, I will still do everything I can to make sure this country is successful. I feel like that's where I am at in my career, it is not about me, playing at the World Cup to try and say I am the best defender in the world.
"I want to be part of a group and I feel like I can still be a big part of a group on the pitch but also off the pitch."
Maguire evidently still needs to secure his place. This is a two-tier squad and arguably Ezri Konsa, John Stones and Marc Guehi are ahead of him. But there is likely an opportunity beyond that.
However, Maguire's confidence in his own ability has never waned. He added: "I have great belief in myself. I'm a top-level centre back.
"You don't play seven years at Manchester United, under the scrutiny that we're under, especially in a centre-back position where every goal that you concede is analysed, scrutinised, or play for England at three major tournaments, kicking every single ball, every minute of every game in those tournaments without having the belief that you deserve to be there.
"I feel like my form for Manchester United, probably for three years now, has been at a high level and whenever I've been available - it has been a little bit stop-start over the last two years with my injuries - I'm in a good rhythm now.
"When I have been available, I've been playing and starting for Manchester United. We all know I had a dip in form at Manchester United for six to nine months, one season probably. But since then, I feel like I played really, really well."
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