John Stones admits England miss Harry Maguire amidst the national team’s Euro 2024 struggles | OneFootball

Manchester City star John Stones has admitted that Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been sorely missed in the England camp during their ongoing Euro 2024 campaign.

Maguire was left out of Gareth Southgate’s final 26-man squad due to injury problems. United’s only representatives in the squad are Luke Shaw – who has yet to taste even a single minute of action due to fitness issues – and Kobbie Mainoo, who was only handed nine minutes of action vs. Serbia.

Maguire has been one of Southgate’s main men during his tenure as England boss and was often selected even when in poor form for his club.

In Maguire’s absence, Southgate has so far deployed a centre-back partnership of Stones and Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi. The two have done well as a pairing but the Three Lions have overall been very underwhelming.

In games against Serbia and more recently Denmark, England’s performances have been far from convincing, drawing plenty of criticism from supporters and the media.

In both matches, Southgate’s men looked bereft of any ideas, especially in possession.

Stones spoke on talkSPORT and pinpointed Maguire’s non-involvement in the tournament in Germany as something the team has suffered from. Stones however noted that he’s sure Maguire is supporting England from home.

The Man City man said, “I’d say for the first week after the squad got announced, I spoke to him. I was extremely gutted for him personally and from my point of view from him being around in big tournaments previously. Not just for me, for the lads.”

“To have had that injury and not being able to be fully fit to come away is such a difficult position to be in. I sympathise with how he’s feeling with that.”

“He did his best to try and be here but I am sure he will be at home watching every game and supporting us. He sent a good luck message as he does.”

Stones added, “I hope he is coping alright. He is probably screaming at the TV out of anger, happiness and all the emotions that come with it. He is missed by the group massively, and I hope to see him back soon.”

England return to action on Tuesday when they face Slovenia at Cologne Stadium.

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