‘That is the difference’ – Ferdinand explains how Man Utd star reaches next level with country
Harry Maguire is a “man mountain” whenever he plays for England, according to former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
Maguire has shaken off an injury to restore his place in England’s lineup at Euro 2020 and the results have been positive. Gareth Southgate’s side have kept clean sheets in all five of their games at the tournament so far, with Maguire starting the most recent three. He won the man of the match award in the Round of 16 win over Germany.
The Man Utd captain was once again important as England shut out Ukraine to reach the semi-finals with a 4-0 win in Rome.
They will face Denmark in the last four, as their dreams of reaching a major tournament final continue to grow.
Several players came in for praise after the win over Ukraine. But while many focused on the attack, Ferdinand noticed how well Maguire played.
The 28-year-old scored England’s second goal after heading in clubmate Luke Shaw’s cross. Ferdinand thinks he has been the whole package in an England shirt.
“Harry Maguire looks so comfortable at international football,” he told BBC Sport.
“In an England shirt he looks like a man mountain to me. He comes out with the ball and picks the right passes.
“He always tries to come out, bring someone to him and then play the ball and that is the difference.
“He wants to commit someone and that is the difference between him and other centre-backs.”
Maguire outlines England belief
After the game, Maguire said England’s emotions were high, but they want to keep their journey going.
After reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, the target is to now go further at the Euros.
“It’s a great feeling. Back-to-back semi-finals at a major tournament,” Maguire told the BBC.
“It’s a great achievement but we don’t stop here. We’ve got another big game coming up and we want to go further this time than we did at the World Cup.
“Of course it’s a great feeling to win here and the way we’ve done it as well shows the big progress that we’re making as a country. So long may the improvement continue.”
Confidence is growing among the England supporters and Maguire revealed that the team themselves are also optimistic.
He claimed that the Ukraine game was tougher than it may have appeared. However, he insisted the final scoreline was the one that England deserved.
“We have great belief in the dressing room,” he continued.
“The first half was tough. We got the early goal we wanted and they caused a few problems with their shape and they changed it a few times in the first half.
“But the second goal settled us down a lot and from then on we controlled the game really well and got the third and fourth, which I think we deserved on the night.
“It was an impressive performance in the end and now we’ve got to rest, recover and we’ve got another big one coming up.”
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