England’s defence of Harry Maguire shows Southgate’s England is united 

In an article for BBC Sport, football writer Phil McNulty suggests England’s defence of the Manchester United captain is a ‘line in the sand moment’. 

The England team – including management have always ‘presented a fierce united front’ under Gareth Southgate and they did so again when condemning the booing from England fans towards Harry Maguire.

England played Ivory Coast last night at Wembley, winning 3-0 and debuting some of England’s young up-and-coming talents – and proved to be a shining moment for England’s Euro hero Raheem Sterling. Last night’s friendly saw England’s best battling it out to prove to Southgate they deserve a place in the starting 11 for the upcoming World Cup. 

Harry Maguire is the Manchester United captain, who like many United players in recent months, has been questioned by fans over current form. Maguire was booed by England fans last night in an apparent response to his poor form at Man Utd – with fans questioning how he got into Southgate’s starting 11. 

It’s important to note it was still a minority of fans booing Maguire – but still loud enough for them to be heard when the ball was played back to him at the kick-off. 

England v Ivory Coast: Maguire booed – the reaction 

England boss Gareth Southgate said the booing of Harry Maguire was “an absolute joke. Football managers rarely criticised their own fans but Southgate has ever shied away from the tough questions since he’s taken charge of the squad – its perhaps one of the reasons he’s so popular. 

“He was in no mood to soft pedal and it was another sign of Southgate’s strength in his position and his determination to protect the unity he has built so carefully in his England squad,” said Phil McNulty. 

Jordan Henderson reacted on social media, his response a mix between anger and disbelief – he asked: “What have we become?” 

Harry Kane said that after the team had “worked hard to rebuild our connection with England fans in the last few years” the booing was “just not right.”

Declan Rice, meanwhile, described the incidents as a “total embarrassment” and “absolute nonsense.”

The reaction from the players shows the relationship England players have with the majority of supporters – the fact they could speak so openly about how hurt they were. 

Gareth Southgate’s England squad

Southgate’s England has made the national squad popular with the public again after a number of years when the circus around the ‘golden generation’ saw much of the public fall out of love with the team. 

The team have a far more media-friendly relationship although this is built on the results the team have – and under Southgate, the team have done well. 

“Maguire felt the total support of those inside England’s camp if not some of those inside Wembley and it was a moment of significance that it was not allowed to pass without such a public, condemnatory response,” Phil McNulty. 

England Football World Cup 2022

Is England in the World Cup 2022?

Yes. Group, I consisted of six teams: Albania, Andorra, England, Hungary, Poland and San Marino.

England won the group and qualified directly for the World Cup. 

When is the 2022 FIFA World Cup draw?

The Group Stage draw for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be made at 5pm (BST) on Friday, April 1, at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center, Doha, Qatar.

This will be after the majority of qualifying has taken place, with 29 of 32 places already confirmed, besides the two nations who will qualify via the inter-confederation play-offs, and the winner of UEFA’s Path A play-off, in June 2022.

How to watch

The draw will typically be broadcast live on FIFA’s website, but for UK viewers it will be televised on BBC 1, while it can also be accessed via iPlayer and the iPlayer app. Coverage will begin at 4:45pm.

For this draw, however, the teams will be allocated into the four pots based on the latest round of FIFA World Rankings, published on Thursday before the draw, and the top seven seeds will be drawn into Pot 1, along with the hosts, Qatar.

Pot 2 will then contain the next eight highest ranked teams, while the same will be applied for Pot 3 and Pot 4. However, Pot 4 will also contain the two winners of the inter-confederation play-offs and the winner of the last UEFA play-off.

Rules for the draw

As hosts, Qatar will be automatically assigned to Group A, while the rest of the seven teams in Pot A will be allocated to Groups B-H in the order they are drawn out. The same process will be applied for Pot B, Pot C and Pot D.

With UEFA having 13 nations at the tournament, five out of the eight groups will have two European nations pitted against each other, although this is the maximum amount allowed in any one group. Each group must have at least one team from UEFA.

No other continent is allowed to have more than one of its nations in the same group. For example, two South American countries, such as Brazil and Uruguay, cannot be drawn in the same group and two Asian countries, such as Japan and Saudi Arabia, cannot be drawn in the same group.

Qualified teams

Qatar (hosts)

Africa – Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia

Asia – Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia

Europe – Germany, Denmark, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and one more TBC

North America – Canada and two more TBC

South America – Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay

Inter-confederation play-offs – One team from Asia, North America, South America and Oceania will compete in the play-offs for the final two spots in June.

When does the Group Stage begin?

The Group Stage will take place over 12 days, with four matches being played each day and each team playing each other once, with the first match set to take place on Monday, November 21, 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium, featuring the hosts Qatar in Group A.

Groups A, B, E and F will all play their matches at the same four stadiums: Al Bayt Stadium (60,000 capacity), Khalifa International Stadium (40,000 capacity), Al Thumama Stadium (40,000 capacity), Ahmed bin Ali Stadium (44,740 capacity).

Groups C, D, G and H will play all their matches at the four other stadiums: Lusail Iconic Stadium (80,000 capacity), Stadium 974 (40,000 capacity), Education City Stadium (45.350 capacity), Al Janoub Stadium (40,000 capacity).