Harry Maguire is England's weak link - Gareth Southgate has no little alternative but to find solutions to protect Man Utd's divisive defender

Dunk took most of the negative headlines for his fatal giveaway, but it could easily have been Maguire who was being harpooned afterwards. Late in the first half, the defender raced on to a loose ball after a header from Ben Chilwell and did the hard part in beating Raphinha to it.

But rather than clear it or move it forward, Maguire took the baffling decision to dribble backwards and was predictably mugged by the winger. Fortunately for Maguire, Raphinha fired wide.

It was not his first hairy moment. That had come in the 11th minute when England were caught on the counter-attack after Chilwell had lost the ball. Bruno Guimaraes launched the ball forward to Vinicius Jr, and although Maguire had time to adjust his positioning, he never stood a chance against the Real Madrid forward, who had also out-sprinted Kyle Walker.

Vinicius’s finish lacked power and Walker was able to clear it before it crossed the line, offering more relief to Maguire. The United centre-back was not a total disaster and, as ever, was useful in the opposing area, heading just over the bar from a set-piece. And he was not the worst culprit in an England defence that gave away seven big chances, as defined by Opta, more than in any other match under Southgate.

Chilwell was wasteful in possession and a liability in defence, a huge downgrade on the injured Luke Shaw, while Walker, captain for the night in the absence of Kane, was shown up by Vinicius and had to come off injured shortly after racing back to clear the shot away.

Walker will miss the match with Belgium after returning to his club, just like Maguire. But neither player has much to worry about as their deputies do not look like usurping them in the team any time soon.

Maguire has the experience of three major tournaments under his belt, all of which he and England performed pretty well in. He also has a strong understanding with John Stones, who has partnered him at each major tournament.

His England CV means he is still ahead of Jarrad Branthwaite, who is set to make his international debut against Belgium, as well as Dunk, who may not even make it to the Euros after his troublesome cameo.

Marc Guehi might have given him a run for his money, but the Crystal Palace defender has not played any football since the start of February and will not return until late April after undergoing knee surgery.

AC Milan’s Fikayo Tomori was a potential threat to Maguire, but he was dropped from this round of fixtures, having only recently recovered from a hamstring injury that had put him out of action for two months.

Maguire, of course, has more than two months to improve his own game and get back on track after his own series of injury setbacks. He has staged his own comeback at United, going from being on the transfer list and even having a £30 million ($35m) fee from West Ham accepted, to unseating Raphael Varane as Erik ten Hag’s first-choice defender while Lisandro Martinez was out.

Maguire was the Premier League’s Player of the Month for November, but he sustained a groin injury against Bayern Munich in December, sidelining him for more than six weeks. And just as he was getting back into the rhythm of games, he picked up an unspecified injury which knocked him out of action for another three weeks, only returning as a substitute against Liverpool.

The Brazil game was his first start for a month and he had to face the blisteringly quick triumvirate of Rodrygo, Raphinha and Vinicius. Perhaps it is unsurprising that he did struggle.

Maguire is one of the most comfortable defenders in the Premier League when the game is in front of him and his team are in control, be it in possession or out of it. But when order is replaced by chaos and he has to defend wave after wave of transition, repeatedly placed on the backfoot, he is vulnerable.

Southgate has always fiercely defended Maguire in the face of criticism, and after the friendly with Scotland in September, the manager described his treatment as “something beyond anything I've ever seen”. During his worst periods with United, Maguire took solace from his time away with England.

But there is a risk of him becoming a scapegoat at international level too if England do not have a successful European Championship. Given the talent and experience in the squad, and the fact they have been handed a relatively straightforward group containing Denmark, Slovenia and Serbia, England should be aiming for the semi-finals at the very least.

If they win Group C and overcome their last-16 tie, they are likely to meet either Spain or Italy in the quarter-finals. France or Germany would then be most likely to await them in the semis. That could take Maguire on a collision course to meet Kylian Mbappe in Dortmund, a match-up few would expect him to win.

Southgate, therefore, must devise a plan to give England more control in matches and protect Maguire as much as possible. Some of his best performances have come in games when England played the much-maligned double-pivot of Declan Rice with either Kalvin Phillips or Jordan Henderson.

The latter two have experienced big drop offs in form and Phillips was dropped from the last squad. Neither player is popular with the fans at the moment while Conor Gallagher is the most in-form, fit midfielder at the moment who can accompany Rice.

The Chelsea man was full of energy against Brazil, but also unreliable in possession, losing the ball more often than any other England player. A better solution could be Kobbie Mainoo, Maguire’s team-mate at United, who had an impressive cameo against Brazil and is due a start against Belgium after posting 100 percent passing accuracy in his 15 minutes on the pitch at Wembley.

Mainoo looks like he was raised in the Barcelona academy and has a level of control, poise and intelligence rarely seen in English players. He has helped United move on from their harrowing start to the season and given them hope of silverware and finishing in the top five.

Despite his inexperience, Mainoo represents arguably the best path to an England team that can dictate the pace of games and avoid Maguire being left on the backfoot and in races he knows he is bound to lose.

Southgate was reluctant to call up Mainoo in the first place and left the teenager out of his initial squad before drafting him in the day after his masterclass against Liverpool. Given the manager’s reputation for going with the tried and tested, it seems unrealistic for him to be starting Mainoo against Serbia in the Euro 2024 opener.

But curiously, taking a risk on Mainoo might be the safest option if it means making the team more balanced and playing to Maguire’s strengths. Like it or not, Maguire is his best bet at centre-back, and ensuring he is at his most comfortable could be England’s surest route to glory in Germany.