Tunisia 1-2 England: Five things we learned

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VOLGOGRAD, RUSSIA – JUNE 18: Harry Maguire of England applauds fans after the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia group G match between Tunisia and England at Volgograd Arena on June 18, 2018 in Volgograd, Russia. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images) /

Harry Maguire: How good is he?

Before we proceed, let us have a look at his numbers from last night (per Squawka):

Tackles won: 100%

Touches: 94

Passes: 78

Passes completed: 69

Aerial duels won: 7

Chances created: 3

Tackles: 2

Assist: 1

The statistics are just about enough to tell the complete story of Harry Maguire’s dream debut at the World Cup. Not once did it look like he was out of place, or out of ideas whenever there was the slightest bit of trouble in sight.

There were a couple of moments when he perhaps played a pass that he shouldn’t have or took more risk than he should have, but he can be forgiven for that, given the impact that he otherwise had on the game, and how he excelled at the role that he was asked to play by his manager in a 3-5-2.

Speaking after the game, Gareth Southgate was full of praise for the 25-year old:

"“His potential is huge,” he said. “He’s probably the one player — him and Pickford — who haven’t played in cup finals on the big stage or Champions League games in the past, so maybe, for him, it was more of a voyage of discovery tonight than for some of the others. “He has great composure – he has really good defensive qualities, most things land on his bonce in both penalty areas. “He’s got a really lovely calm temperament. I think that he has outstanding potential, I hope tonight’s given him a lot of belief.”"