England manager Gareth Southgate has come to the defence of Harry Maguire after a series of bashing from critics and the media.

This follows a blander he committed during an England vs Scotland friendly fixture.

The match which was played at the Hampden on Tuesday saw England win 3-1.

Scotland’s solitary goal was a gift from Maguire‘s mistake.

The Manchester United defender inadvertently offered Scotland a glimmer of hope by awkwardly redirecting a low cross into his own net in the 67th minute.

He received sarcastic cheers from the Scottish supporters with every successful pass.

Maguire, initially a substitute for England, came in at halftime following Marc Guehi’s injury.

Southgate labelled some of the criticism aimed at Maguire from pundits as a “joke” while praising Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden.

Nonetheless, Southgate underlined his importance for England, with the defender having featured in all of their Euro 2024 qualifying matches.

“There has been ridiculous treatment of him for a long period of time, frankly,” Southgate said after the match.

“It’s a joke. I’ve never known a player treated the way he is not by the Scottish fans, but by our own commentators, pundits,

“Whatever, They’ve created something beyond anything I’ve ever seen,”

“He’s been an absolute stalwart for us in the second most successful England team for decades.

” He’s been an absolute key part of that,” Southgate said.

Ahead of the new season, Maguire’s manager at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag, relieved him of the captain’s armband.

In addition, Ten Hag signed 35-year-old defender Jonny Evans on a free transfer and facilitated.

This is Maguire’s discussions with West Ham regarding a potential transfer.

Maguire opted to remain with United and has received playing time primarily due to injuries to players ranked higher than him in the pecking order.

Nevertheless, Southgate has remained steadfast in his support for the player.