JUST 44 days after leaving Villa Park in a protective boot, Harry Maguire was back at full throttle.
He delivered the blocks and the tackles. He used that famously large head to steer the ball away from danger.
One of the few genuine leaders in this England team, the Manchester United skipper constantly shouted instructions at his back four, marshalling them to perfection when the Czechs launched their raids.
And there was that much under-appreciated but equally important part of his game – the defence-splitting pass out from the back.
He unleashed Kane on one occasion but equally, provided a quality passing link to the midfield which, for all his brave efforts in the first two games, Tyrone Mings was unable to do.
If England are to do anything at this tournament – and the jury may still be out – it was vital to get Maguire back in the heart of that England defence.
And with Jordan Henderson appearing for the first time at Euro2020, in place of Declan Rice at half-time, England’s team started to have more of a familiar look.
Although both Maguire and Henderson play in different positions, it is still something of a shock to see them both featuring on the pitch before Jadon Sancho.
And it is strange, that after two successive clean sheets in Euro2020, it was a relief to see such a key player back in Gareth Southgate’s team.
But having Maguire back on the left-hand side of central defence is one reason why England will have renewed hope when they.return to Wembley next Tuesday.
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And the highlight of Maguire’s evening was a stunningly clean, brilliantly-timed-tackle just after the hour mark on the Czech’s Tomas Holes.
So now, Southgate must keep the same back four for the game
Compared to the first match against Croatia, Southgate has already made four changes to the back line so they need to settle.
It seemed as though Maguire’s hopes and dream of starring here at Euro2020 – along with leading his team out in the final of the Europa League – had been crushed the moment he fell awkwardly following a collision with Anwar El Ghazi in United’s 3-1 win at Aston Villa on May 9.
These type of injuries normally take about six weeks. And this was the case with Maguire returning to competitive action six weeks and two days after he left the pitch in such discomfort.
With ankle ligament issues, there is always a chance they could flare up when a player returns to full-throttle, contact football.
We can only hope Maguire wakes up this morning and feels fresh and ready for action.
Maguire was never going to make it against Villarreal in Gdansk and it remains farcical that at his pre-match press conference in Poland, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer refused to rule his captain out of the final. Ahead of the final training session, Solskjaer said:
“Harry is just going to jog up and down the sideline, I reckon.”
In fact, Maguire was unable to run properly but his recovery has been speedy and has surprised Southgate and his medical staff.
You had to have some sympathy for Mings.
The Aston Villa defender hardly covered himself in glory during England’s opening warm-up clash against Austria, a 1-0 win in Middlesbrough, when he floored Sasa Kalajdzic with an off-the-ball forearm smash.
Mings, along with the rest of his back four, was handed some major problems by Romania despite the team winning by the solitary goal but he was pretty solid in both the Croatia and Scotland games. And at least he got a run-out when replacing John Stones.
Once again, England featured a much-changed defence with Kyle Walker – who was not even on the substitute’s bench for the Scotland game – coming in at right-back.
Apart from playing a part in the winning goal against Croatia, Walker did not play particularly well as he kept passing to imaginary team-mates, something which is never helpful.
But Walker was much better last night. He made fewer mistakes and generally looked more comfortable on the ball.
As for Henderson, he looked terrible in his 45-minute run-out against Austria in Middlesbrough but it was his first game since February. This second-half performance was much-needed and you would expect him to start in the last 16 tie.
So overall, Southgate will be satisfied. England have not been sensational. But top of the group, no goals conceded and with Maguire and Henderson back on the pitch, they are certainly in reasonable shape.
They just need the team’s other Harry to remember where the goal is.
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