Harry Maguire Profile
England new-boy Harry Maguire made his senior international debut for England in their 1–0 win over Lithuania in Sunday’s final World Cup qualifier.
Whilst the occasion itself left little to be desired with England already securing their place at Russia 2018 — It remained a monumental occasion in the career of Harry Maguire who later said it was “something I dreamt about as a kid”.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Very proud to have made my <a href=”https://twitter.com/England?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@England</a> debut. It's a great honour to represent my country, something I dreamt about when I was a kid. 🦁🦁🦁 <a href=”https://t.co/rINeCbeiH0">pic.twitter.com/rINeCbeiH0</a></p>— Harry Maguire (@HarryMaguire93) <a href=”https://twitter.com/HarryMaguire93/status/917108804797509633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8"></script>
The news itself was also huge for the Maguire family, with two of his brothers Joe and Laurence also being footballers for Boston United and Chesterfield. Ecstatic Laurence tweeted before the game: “Dreams can come true, never thought I would see the day @HarryMaguire93 making his debut for England. Good luck big man, do your thing.”
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet” data-lang=”en”><p lang=”en” dir=”ltr”>Dreams can come true, never thought I would see the day <a href=”https://twitter.com/HarryMaguire93?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HarryMaguire93</a> making his debut for England. Good luck big man, do your thing 😘❤️⚽️ <a href=”https://t.co/2Nv9BMcZ4y">pic.twitter.com/2Nv9BMcZ4y</a></p>— Laurence Maguire (@_lozmaguire) <a href=”https://twitter.com/_lozmaguire/status/917039162523451396?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2017</a></blockquote> <script async src=”//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8"></script>
Maguire started on the left of a back three for England in Vilnius and helped keep a clean sheet for the Three Lions after failing to appear in England’s previous Autumn qualifiers against Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia.
His call-up to the England squad followed his £17m summer move to former Premier League champions Leicester City after he quickly established himself in his new surroundings scoring in his debut away at Burton and in his first home game at the King Power Stadium against Brighton.
Upon his first call up to the senior side, England Head Coach Gareth Southgate discussed being impressed by his performances for Hull at the end of last season.
“He is a defender who is very comfortable with the ball and that’s the profile of international football.
He plays with great composure and it’s a really good opportunity for us to get a look at him.”
Maguire’s journey to the England senior side is a tale of hard work and progressing through the lower tiers of English football.
His only previous experience in the national setup came back in 2012 as a substitute for the England U21 side whilst playing for his hometown side Sheffield United.
Three consecutive Sheffield United Player of the Year awards from 2011 to 2014 saw Maguire earn a move to top flight side Hull City — Before halfway through the season being loaned back out to Championship outfit Wigan Athletic making 16 appearances.
Whilst on loan at Wigan, Maguire’s parent club Hull saw themselves relegated back down to the Championship and with that he soon established himself back in the Hull set up.
Under manager Steve Bruce — Maguire would then help Hull bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking beating Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 in the playoff final. Back in the Premier League, Maguire would then establish himself under both Mike Phelan and Marco Silva as a crucial player for the side — Eventually captaining Hull in a 4–2 home win against Middlesbrough.
The summer before the 2017/2018 season, Harry Maguire secured his £17m move to Leicester City and in doing so continues his Premier League journey.
Starting in the final qualifier puts him in good stead heading in to Russia 2018 and as Gareth Southgate continues to experiment in defence — Harry Maguire could be at the forefront of English Football going forward.