Harry Maguire’s performance assessed from England versus Spain

Leicester City defender Harry Maguire started the Spain match for England on Saturday. This is an analysis of his performance back at Wembley Stadium.

Spain defeated England at Wembley Stadium 2-1 in their initial UEFA Nations League match. Leicester City’s Harry Maguire was an accomplished part of the team throughout.

Early on in the action, Maguire made a good step up for an offside. There seems to be a great rapport/understanding between the Fox and his Toffees goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford. Pickford appears to give his teammate loud instruction or indication of when the centre-back can dribble out – as he does so effectively.

Tranquility comes in unnerving moments as Leicester City’s defensive player calmly slots the ball back to his goalie when there is even a hint of pressure. Which is preferable to an occasional overly relaxed approach to forward distribution from the King Power player.

In addition to physically dominating his opponent, Maguire oozes an aura of durability. Meaning, slightly non-combative-style nations – like Spain and certain of their players – think twice about 50/50s, basic plays and tricks around the towering centre-back. Thus affecting the flow of their play.

One man who is not intimidated is Sergio Ramos – who endured tussles and battles at set-pieces with his English counterpart all evening. In another intense moment, the roar from the crowd when Maguire read Spanish minds to intercede and travel forward leaving players in his wake was palpable.

There was a start for Maguire, after England’s impressive semi-final appearance at the World Cup in Russia.

Jesse Lingard playfully teases Leicester City’s 6-foot-four defender on Twitter, after England training.

Maguire was on the receiving end of some light-hearted banter on social media following more practice at St George’s Park.

Spain goal

It is fair to say that Maguire may have blocked the cross for the Spanish equaliser. He looked slightly flustered as his man cut the ball back. Contrarily, Maguire read other plays in the box very well – moving swiftly to intercept.

Of Maguire’s performance first-half, Telegraph cited his ability to seize the ball:

"“Carvajal tries his best Luke Shaw impression with a low ball across the face of goal, but Maguire sees it coming and cuts it out well.”(Via: Telegraph)"

Second-half

After the interval, the defender resumed duties at centre-back with John Stones and Joe Gomez. A quiet beginning was the spectacle at Wembley. Hopefully the impressive Luke Shaw recovers from injury.

The fearlessness of Leicester City’s man-at-the-back was evident once again as he headed away a rocket of a Spanish free-kick. Three Lions supporters have really taken to Maguire – he is cheered whenever the fans anticipate a marauding advance.

Consistently, Maguire is comfortable on the left of a back-three. Should Claude Puel choose to adopt that format with Leicester City, then Jonny Evans and Caglar Soyuncu could form an imposing partnership with the England regular.

Overall, Maguire deserves an eight as his match rating. This score will become higher as his pass success rate increases. However, the former Sheffield United player is making less telling errors in possession. Unfortunately, there were not many set-plays to utilise his heading ability until one late effort.

Details of Saturday’s game can be found on the FA website. England meet Switzerland on Tuesday at the King Power Stadium. Kick off is at 8pm BST. Jamie Vardy will not feature for the Three Lions – he retired from international football recently – unless needed through injuries.