Maguire admits England 'fear' and compares himself to ex-Man Utd striker Ronaldo

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has admitted he 'fears' he won't be included in Gareth Southgate's England squad for the World Cup.

The 29-year-old has earned a spot in the Euro 2020 Team of the Tournament after recovering from an ankle injury.

But Maguire's career has gone downhill since then, as his form for Manchester United has declined.

Dropped out after Erik ten Hag lost his first two games in charge, the centre-back made just seven more club appearances - a period which also saw him floored by injury.

These struggles led to questions about Maguire's place in the World Cup squad and the defender admits there was a part of him, however small, that feared he might not. don't make Gareth Southgate's selection.

"Obviously to be chosen for your country is a huge privilege," he said before earning his 50th cap in Friday's World Cup group game against the United States.

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"It is the pinnacle of a football career to play in the major tournaments of your country, especially the World Cups. It is the biggest tournament in the world.

"Obviously you are afraid of (not) being part of a team, but I had a great belief in what I did in the 49 caps I played for England that I gained the confidence to be in the team and to be available for the team and the selection.”

Maguire was thrust straight into the starting lineup for Monday's World Cup opener against Iran, whose fans had brought some goading signs to the oft-abused defender.

There may be few players who receive more relentless criticism than the world's most expensive defender, but he seems capable of shrugging them off.

When asked if he doubted himself given the harsh background noise, Maguire replied, "No, I have a lot of self-confidence.

"I go to the training ground, I work as hard as I can. I give my all, I give my best and that gives you good preparation to go into a game and play at the best level.

"I went to the Euros after an injury of eight to ten weeks, so I was not too worried about the lack of playing time.

"Obviously I want to play every week for my club. It's something I will fight to get back into the team.

"So this is not where I wanted to be and where I wanted to be, but of course I feel fresh.

"I've been working hard, doing extras on the training ground to make sure I'm ready when I get the chance to play.

"I knew the World Cup was coming up, so I always put in extra shifts in training, like I said, and kept up the pace."

Maguire left for England at a fascinating time for United, with the Glazer family announcing on Tuesday they were ready to sell just hours after Cristiano Ronaldo mutually terminated their contract.

The skipper says he found it easy to focus on national team matters despite 'a lot of talk in the club', and interestingly used his former team-mate as an example to deal with the flak .< /p>

"Of course, as a footballer, nobody likes to be criticized, but I think that's part of the game," said Maguire, who feels good after being substituted against Iran because he doesn't didn't feel well.

"I've played with Cristiano Ronaldo for the past two years and he's one of the greatest players to kick the ball around and he gets criticized day after day.

"So if that's going to happen to him and the position I'm in, I think that's part and parcel of the game, especially the position I play for Manchester United and captain Manchester United.

"With Cristiano playing and me surrounding him for a few years, he is the greatest player, for me, to have ever kicked a football and he is criticized daily, so it will happen to everyone of us.

"So that's just part of the game. It's something you have to practice, do your best and that's what I always tell myself. Go in and do your best and that's is only what you can do."

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