The dark cloud that follows Harry Maguire is growing… there is cause for concern that England will continue to select him

THERE will come a time when things go well again for Harry Maguire.

But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon.

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At the moment, the cloud that constantly follows the beleaguered central defender is getting bigger and bigger.

His own goal, 22 minutes after coming on as a half-time substitute, gave fans more ammunition to throw at Gareth Southgate, who had picked him.

The Manchester United defender must feel like he is cursed.

He failed to secure a move to West Ham in the summer, although it could be argued that part of that was his own fault due to financial disputes.

On one occasion when he came on as a substitute for United, everything went wrong for Arsenal and they ended up losing 3-1.

And now, despite increasing criticism of his selection, he managed to direct Andy Robertson’s cross into his own goal.

He played well enough in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Ukraine, but his mistake here, sticking out a lazy leg, smacked of a player who’s rusty. Something has to change.

Still, the situation with England, where he remains in Southgate’s first XI plans, is a major cause for concern.

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Although he will deny it, the manager will be extremely concerned about the situation surrounding a player who has served him so well.

Otherwise, Southgate will have been happy with this decent win.

Although his team is sleepwalking their way to Euro 2024, Southgate knows that, as harsh as it may sound, a large proportion of England fans are still prepared to turn against him.

A poor result in Glasgow following the Ukraine game would have sent a wave of negativity his way.

At the moment, the cloud that constantly follows the beleaguered central defender is getting bigger and bigger.

He will also have to continue to campaign for the fact that he substituted Maguire for Marc Guehi at half-time.

Sensibly, Southgate took no risks and put in a strong performance, with star players Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice all in the starting XI.

He was rewarded with a strong, impressive performance that certainly reassured the locals here in Mount Florida, although Maguire’s own goal did raise the decibel level at times. England has some generational talent.

This was proof that the national team is not quite as strong as many would have you believe.

There’s the issue of Jordan Henderson playing in Saudi Arabia and Maguire’s car crash of a season.

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And the problem is that central midfield and the middle of defense are two areas that are relatively weak.

Kalvin Phillips made only his second appearance this season, having come on briefly as a substitute in the 84th minute for Manchester City against Fulham ten days earlier.

Assessing his options in midfield, Southgate was still cursing the fact that Trent Alexander-Arnold was unavailable after a decent trial in two games this summer.

John Stones, Luke Shaw, Jack Grealish and Mason Mount were the other injured players, which also left the substitutes’ bench looking a little thin.

Raheem Sterling and James Ward-Prowse were sitting at home watching TV, completely upset.

And the lack of experience in central defense was highlighted by the fact that Lewis Dunk and Guehi went into the game with just six caps between them. Aaron Ramsdale had no chance with his own goal in only his fourth appearance for his country.

England does not have a super strong goalkeeping formation – the same applies to the strikers.

We are doomed if anything happens to Kane, who put the game out of Scotland’s reach with his superb goal.

Bayern Munich probably won’t have been too impressed that he played 84 minutes, as they have a game against Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.

While there were many positives for Southgate, there was also one major negative, namely Maguire.

The England fans continued to chant his name as always.

But the fact that the Tartan Army let out ironic cheers every time he touched the ball gives some idea of ​​the pressure on him.

And the problem is that it probably won’t get better anytime soon.