Thomas Tuchel is WRONG: Harry Maguire must be part of England's World Cup squad

Maguire has seen it all with England. He is just one of six players within the 35-man squad Tuchel picked for the friendlies against Uruguay and Japan who went to the 2018 World Cup, where the Three Lions enjoyed their best display at a global tournament for 28 years. Maguire was a massive part of their success in Russia, starting every game while giving England the lead in the quarter-final against Sweden with the first of many towering headers he would score for his country.

The script repeated at Euro 2020, Maguire performing consistently on England's path to the final while scoring another bullet header in a quarter-final, this time against Ukraine. He also took responsibility in the penalty shootout in the final against Italy, blasting his spot-kick into the top corner before his attacking team-mates all erred.

Despite a traumatic period on a collective and personal level with United in the 2021-22 season, Maguire blocked out the negatives whenever he put on an England shirt and scored four times in his four appearances in qualifying for the 2022 World Cup. He subsequently started all the games as England reached the quarter-finals in Qatar. He would likely have done the same at Euro 2024, too, had it not been for a calf injury which ruled him out of the tournament.

It was not the first time Maguire would bounce back from adversity. He was stripped of the United captaincy by Erik ten Hag in 2023 when he drifted out of the first team while one of his lowest points came not long after, when he was humiliated by Scotland fans after scoring an own goal in September. 

The summer of 2023 was when Maguire was nearly forced out of United, who had effectively agreed to sell him to West Ham, only for the player to refuse to go.

Maguire fought his way back into the United team under Ten Hag, keeping Raphael Varane out of the side while winning the Premier League's Player of the Month award for November 2023, the first United defender to do so in 14 years. When Amorim succeeded Ten Hag, Maguire soon turned into one of the Portuguese's most important players, a highly effective weapon when deployed up front. 

But it is only recently that he has one again reached his best level of form for the first time since the 2020-21 season, buttressing United's resurgence under Michael Carrick.

Maguire combined with Lisandro Martinez to mark Erling Haaland out of the Manchester derby in January, and a week later was crucial to United becoming the first and only team to beat Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium this season. His aerial presence also helped United see off the persistent threat of Everton's wrestling in the penalty area in the 1-0 win on Merseyside. 

His ability to move the ball out of defence has been equally valuable to the Red Devils during their run of seven wins and two draws in 10 matches under Carrick.

Maguire has been on an enthralling ride of ups and downs since making his £80 million ($105m) move from Leicester City to United in 2019. As well as enduring relentless criticism of his performances, he has had to handle the continued fallout from his arrest in Greece in 2020, a saga which has still not come a satisfactory end for him. But Maguire has come out of it the other side.

"I have great belief in myself. I’m a top-level centre-back," Maguire said last week while on England duty. "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 [without being a top player].

"I feel like my form for Manchester United probably for three years now has been 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."

Maguire is exactly the type of player who can inspire youngsters and who Tuchel should want in his squad. Seniority and being 'good around the group' is the main reason why Jordan Henderson has remained a constant under the German, so why wouldn't there be room for Maguire too?

Tuchel's decision to call-up Ben White has not gone down well with England fans after the Arsenal defender left the squad during the last World Cup. Maguire would do no such thing and is undoubtedly a player who would lift the team's spirits. Even though it would be his fourth major tournament with England, he would treat it as if it were his last and savour every moment.

"I’m in a position now in my career where it is not so much about myself, not so much about the individual," he said. "I am 33 years old. I am just about the team now, help 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 want to play. I wouldn’t be a footballer if I didn’t want the competitive edge of playing every game. But I’m also at a stage in my career where it’s more about being part of a group, a successful group."

And yet Tuchel should not pick Maguire solely for the vibes. He should pick him because, on his day, Maguire is still among the most reliable centre-backs in the world, with incredible mental fortitude. 

And even though he has had his injury problems within the last couple of years, he is in much better shape to play than his fellow World Cup 2018 veteran Stones, who has not played a Premier League game since December and had to withdraw from the latest camp with injury. 

Maguire will also be fresher than a lot of his England team-mates by the time the World Cup comes around due to United playing just 40 games all season. Tuchel, for all that his honesty is refreshing, should show Maguire more respect and give him the nod in June.