Maguire backs England with public message ahead of World Cup semi-final against Argentina

Harry Maguire put his World Cup disappointment aside on Wednesday to publicly back England ahead of their semi-final against Argentina in Atlanta, posting a good luck message to the squad on his Instagram stories just hours before kick-off.

The Manchester United centre-back, 33, was a shock omission from Thomas Tuchel’s 26-man squad for this summer’s tournament in North America. Marc Guehi, John Stones, Ezri Konsa and Dan Burn were all preferred at centre-back, leaving Maguire — who had been selected for his first camp under Tuchel in March — to return to pre-season training with United under Michael Carrick.

“All the best lads,” Maguire wrote, alongside an England flag and love heart emoji. The gesture came despite the defender admitting he was deeply frustrated by the call.

Speaking on Gary Lineker’s Netflix programme, The Rest is Football — where Maguire has taken up a punditry role during the tournament — he revealed that Tuchel informed him of his exclusion via FaceTime. “It was a surprise. I said straight away it was a surprise. I was really disappointed, and I thought I’d done enough to make the squad,” Maguire said. “I thought I still had a part to play on the pitch and off the pitch.”

Maguire also disclosed that he received a text at around 9 or 10 in the morning on the day of the call, asking him to speak with Tuchel at 4pm — a process he said was shared by other omitted players including Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw. “He FaceTimes everybody, and it’s quite a unique way to do it,” he said. “It’s probably harder for him to see our reactions.”

On Tuchel’s reasoning, Maguire added: “He really said he can’t give me an excuse but that he’s gone with the four lads that got him through the qualifying in the autumn camps. He felt they did well during those six games.” Despite the frustration, Maguire said he accepted the decision: “That’s football. It was tough to take, but I’ll move on quickly from it.”

Maguire has previously spoken of remaining in contact with several England squad members throughout the tournament, and his social media message ahead of one of England’s most significant matches in a generation underlined that support.