Is Harry Maguire’s England career over? Former Three Lions centre-half Des Walker explains why Man Utd defender may be left stuck on 66 caps

Having wandered around in the wilderness for 18 months, Maguire was restored to the Three Lions’ ranks for pre-World Cup friendly fixtures in March 2026. He figured in meetings with Uruguay and Japan.

No seat on the plane to North America was found for him over the summer, with John Stones, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi, Dan Burn and Jarell Quansah getting the nod. Trevoh Chalobah was drafted in as cover following an injury to Tino Livramento.

Maguire aired his disappointment at being overlooked, having never previously let his country down in major tournament action. He has, however, been battling to turn doubters into believers for some time.

Serious questions of his future at Old Trafford were asked when being stripped of the club captaincy and dropped onto the bench, but favour and trust have been earned again in Manchester - leading to a new 12-month contract being signed.

Maguire has been a regular under Michael Carrick, as he fights to plug defensive leaks in 2026-27, and many have suggested that the no-nonsense 33-year-old could still put his vast experience to good use with England.

Tuchel appears to have other ideas. Asked if Maguire’s days as a senior international are over, ex-Three Lions star Walker - who was speaking exclusively to GOAL courtesy of KingWins - said: “You would think so, but confidence-wise I think he’s taken a bit of a beating at times. Sometimes you don’t recover easily from that because the minute you make a mistake or lose a game, everybody is on you.

“He needs to knuckle down, get consistent football at Manchester United and play well. I don’t think he should be thinking about England at the moment. He should be concentrating on getting back to being the player he was.

“If an England opportunity arises because somebody gets injured or something happens, then absolutely take the chance. I’m not saying he should discount England. He should just concentrate on his club football and put the doubts other people have about him out of his mind.

“I watched Manchester United and Fulham and, truthfully, there were two poor defences out there. Both teams looked disorganised and it could have been five each.

“Maguire has the ability. And I don’t think England’s defence is a foregone conclusion either. If you’re conceding a lot of goals at a major tournament, especially when you’ve got two defensive midfield players in front of you, there’s something to address.

“You win tournaments and leagues by not conceding goals. Look at Arsenal. Once you become leaky, you put yourself under pressure. If you have to score two or three goals every week just to win a football match, it isn’t going to happen all the time.”

England are hoping to look a little more watertight when opening their latest UEFA Nations League campaign. World Cup winners Spain are due at Wembley Stadium on Saturday for the start of Group A3 action.

Czechia and Croatia will also be faced over the course of the next fortnight, with Maguire among those being left to watch on from afar. He will be spending time on the training ground at Carrington as United - who have gone winless through their last three fixtures and taken only two Premier League points from the last nine on offer - count down the days to a home date with Tottenham on October 10.