Harry Maguire finally made his comeback from injury last night, getting 90 minutes under his belt for the first time since 9 May by starting in England's Euro 2020 win over the Czech Republic
The Manchester United defender helped the Three Lions to keep a third consecutive clean sheet, and the eighth in their last nine games.
Maguire looked comfortable in his first game back after six-and-a-half weeks. He was solid defensively and almost earned two assists: distributing the ball superbly to create a chance for Harry Kane in the 25th minute, and making a driving run from deep to craft a wonderful goal-scoring opportunity for Jude Bellingham in the second half.
Gary Neville believes the Manchester United defender elevates England to new heights.
"Maguire had to come in to have any chance of playing in the knockout phase. He is the most dominant centre-back we have; he's authoritative, he's very good on the ball. Maguire and John Stones together are a good pair and it was critical for Maguire to come back in last night," he explains.
"Tyrone Mings has done really well, but there was a level of order with Maguire on the ball. We've seen over the last 12 months with empty stadiums that he is vocal and will dig out his team-mates."
"Along with Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson, who isn't playing all the time at the moment, Maguire is the figurehead on the pitch that this England team needs."
"Bringing Maguire and Kyle Walker in against the Czech Republic brought more leadership and maturity."
Maguire wants more from his team, too.
“We've set out to win the group and we've done that,” the centre-back said after the game. “Seven points, three games. Can we play better? Of course we can. Will we improve? We'll do everything we can. Three clean sheets, been solid.
"The fundamentals are there and now we've got to tidy up in every part of our game. I still think there's a little bit more we can get out of each other and push each other.”
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