Harry Maguire's defending in Italy 1-2 England was so bad it's gone viral | OneFootball

England's Euro 2024 qualifying campaign got off to the perfect start on Thursday evening.

Gareth Southgate's side travelled to Naples for a match against current European champions, Italy.

As you may recall, the Azzurri defeated England in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley Stadium.

But this time around, it was the Three Lions who had beaming smiles on their faces at full-time.

England won 2-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium thanks to first half goals from Declan Rice and now record scorer, Harry Kane.

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Perhaps the only concern for Southgate will be the fact his team should have put the game to bed in the opening 45 minutes of play.

Jack Grealish missed an absolute sitter to make it 3-0 just before the interval - and then Italy rallied somewhat after the break.

The hosts halved the deficit in the 56th minute through Tigre striker Mateo Retegui.

It was a good finish from the 23-year-old debutant, although the goal was gifted to him by some woeful defending from Harry Maguire.

The man who is usually so assured in an England shirt surrendered possession with a poor pass, and then offered Italy space to break into with an attempt to rectify his initial mistake.

Maguire's call to try and win back possession meant Roberto Mancini's side had a far easier passage to goal, which Nicolo Barella and Retegui took full advantage of.

Check out footage of the incident in full...

Video: What was Maguire thinking for Italy's goal vs England?

Yeah, that's not a great look.

The version of Maguire we often see in a Manchester United shirt reared its head against Italy, which should worry Southgate in truth.

England's manager has remained incredibly loyal to Maguire in recent years, even when the vast majority of fans were calling for him to be replaced.

And Southgate's loyalty has paid dividends for the Three Lions, something that no one can really deny.

Maguire was named in the Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament and also excelled at the 2022 World Cup.

But if the former Leicester City man cannot prevent his domestic struggles from creeping onto the international stage, the pressure on Southgate to drop him will surely be far too great.