World Cup 2018: How Gareth Southgate took Harry Maguire from not believing in himself to the find of the tournament

From setting up goals, scoring them himself and looking a natural in the back-three, Maguire has come a long way since his England debut nine months ago

It was a small story in a big picture, especially when England were four days away from a World Cup semi-final. But as an example of Gareth Southgate’s best qualities, and an explanation for why England are where they are, it was not a bad place to look.

Back when Harry Maguire made his England debut, in the dead rubber win in Lithuania last October, he took some convincing that he was good enough.

Southgate had called him into the squad for the two September games but it was only that final match in Vilnius, with qualification already assured, that Maguire got to start. It was a night for experimentation, with Harry Winks making his full debut too and Southgate unveiling that back three for the first time.

Maguire had only joined Leicester City from Hull City at the start of that season and was not yet fully established in the Premier League. But Southgate had always rated him and was desperate to test out how good he could be, even if Maguire himself was not so sure. His only international experience to date was 30 minutes off the bench in an under-21 friendly five years before.

“I was certain this was a stage he could play at” Southgate remembered in his post-match press conference in Samara on Saturday evening. “I am not sure he’s always believed that. The first game in Lithuania, he was desperate not to make a mistake.”

So Southgate had to tell Maguire to look up, rather than down. “I remember saying to him: ‘Okay, why don’t we try and be as good as we might be now?’”

Nine months on, Maguire is one of the finds of the tournament. He has been immaculate in England’s back three all the way through, playing as many minutes as any other outfielder, only missing the first half of the Belgium game. He was just as good there today, shackling Marcus Berg, winning almost every tackle and header. He is as good a one-v-one defender as England have, which is saying something given that he was in nobody’s long-term England plans until Southgate saw something in him.

Harry Maguire is embraced by England manager Gareth Southgate (AP)

Almost as importantly, Maguire has proven himself almost unstoppable when attacking set-pieces too. It was his near-post flick on from Kieran Trippier’s corner that set up Harry Kane’s winner against Tunisia, a moment without which we do not know where we would be today. And Maguire’s presence, along with Kane and John Stones, caused havoc for Panama and Colombia’s defences too, helping to win space for team-mates, and crucial penalties for his team.

On Saturday Maguire finally got himself a goal, thumping a header into the Sweden net. Before then England had been nervous. After that they were imperious. It was a decisive moment in settling England down and sending them on the way to the semi-finals.

“Maguire has been a giant in both boxes throughout the tournament,” Southgate said. “He’s an excellent player and his use of the ball is as good as any centre-half at the tournament. We’ve scored set-piece goals because of him up this point, but today he got the one he deserved.”

Whatever happens on Wednesday and beyond, Maguire’s career will never be the same. He still only has 10 caps, but he has established himself as an England international, he has been a part of a history-making England team and he has proven that he can play at the highest standard.

And most of all Maguire has vindicated Southgate’s trust in him, that he could step up to this level and perform for England on the biggest stage of all. It would have been far easier for Southgate to play Gary Cahill or Chris Smalling in that role, but Maguire was the man that Southgate wanted.

Harry Maguire scored England's first goal against Sweden (Getty)

But this goes far beyond the specifics of Maguire’s career and rise to the top. Because long before Southgate saw Maguire and picked him for England, he had a more general faith in what English players could do. Even those who grew up outside of the biggest academies. Young English players could play football as well as anyone, they just had to be given the chance. That has been thumpingly vindicated this summer in Russia, by a man who learned the game playing for Sheffield United in League One.

“Hopefully with what our junior teams are doing as well, that will be a sign to all clubs, at home and abroad, that English players have super technique,” Southgate said. “Stones and Maguire, bringing the ball out and playing with composure, we had not have seen in previous years. That was symbolic and why I joined the FA five years ago. I believed that was possible.”

Now Stones and Maguire are proving Southgate right, more right than he could ever have imagined. And, with their defending, their distribution and their danger in the box, those two have guided Southgate’s team to the last four of a World Cup.