England walked away from Tuesday’s scoreless game against Ghana with a point and a lot of questions. But Harry Maguire wants everyone to pump the brakes.
The veteran defender, who was part of the squad that made the quarterfinals in 2022, sees a familiar pattern. Back then, England crushed Iran 6-2 in the opener, then played a dud against the U.S. before beating Wales to advance. Sound familiar? This year they opened with a 4-2 win over Croatia and followed it with a flat 0-0 draw.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Maguire said the group knows the deal. “You go and play your third game, you win the game and everything’s forgotten about and you go on to the knockout.” He added that a few guys will be kicking themselves over individual performances, but the collective mood shouldn’t bottom out.
Anthony Gordon gets singled out by Gary Neville
Not everyone is that chill about it. Former England right back Gary Neville pointed a finger at Anthony Gordon, the 25-year-old winger who left Newcastle for Barcelona just before the tournament started. Gordon has started both group games and hasn’t really done much in either one.
Neville said on the Stick to Football podcast that Gordon is “probably the one that’s under the most pressure now.” He thought Marcus Rashford might have gotten the nod against Ghana, but Gordon stayed in the lineup. Neville’s take: “I think he’s the one who’s going to find it a little bit difficult to keep his spot.”
Gordon’s lack of production is becoming a talking point. England’s attack looked disjointed against Ghana, and the team struggled to create clear chances. Maguire mentioned some guys will be disappointed in their own performances. It’s not hard to figure out who he meant.
What’s next for England
The group stage isn’t over. England faces Panama on Saturday in their final Group L match. Win that and they’re through to the knockout rounds no matter what else happens. A draw probably gets them through too, depending on other results.
But going into the knockout rounds without a convincing win in the group is not ideal. They got away with it in 2022 and made a run. The question is whether this squad has the same kind of resilience. Maguire seems to think so. Neville sounds less sure about the personnel.
Either way, Saturday will tell us a lot. England controls its own path. But control and actual performance have been two different things so far.
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