Gareth Southgate revealed Harry Maguire was substituted in England's 6-2 win over Iran due to illness rather than injury.

Maguire's inclusion in Southgate's World Cup squad has been fiercely debated after he fell down the pecking order at Manchester United, but he produced a solid performance as England began their Group B campaign in scintillating fashion on Monday.

The defender's aerial presence troubled Iran throughout, and he claimed an assist by nodding down a corner for Bukayo Saka to put England 2-0 up with a brilliant volley in the first half.

Maguire was then replaced by Eric Dier after appearing to go through concussion checks after the break, but Southgate moved to ease any fears regarding his condition after the win.

"Harry Maguire felt ill. [He] flagged it before the [first Iran] goal," Southgate said. "There was no point carrying on, but other than that, no causes for concern."

Writing on Twitter, Maguire said: "I felt unwell in the second half so came off as a precaution. Looking forward to Friday."

Meanwhile, a total of 24 minutes of stoppage time were indicated throughout the game after Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beyranvand suffered a nasty head injury in an early collision with team-mate Majid Hosseini.

While Beyranvand was eventually replaced by Hossein Hosseini, Iran attracted criticism for their initial decision to allow the visibly dazed goalkeeper to continue following the incident.

However, head coach Carlos Queiroz looked to absolve his medical staff of any wrongdoing after the match, saying a broken nose was originally thought to be the extent of Beyranvand's injury.

"We thought he could keep going," Queiroz said. "It was not clear but, one minute after, the player was not able to keep going. 

"He suffered a serious concussion and is on the way to the hospital to have final examinations. 

"That's why the delay happened, because there was doubt between the broken nose and the concussion."

Bukayo Saka scored twice as England made a flying start to their World Cup campaign by thrashing Iran 6-2 at the Khalifa International Stadium on Monday.

Saka – whose penalty miss proved decisive in the Euro 2020 final last year – netted a stunning volley to help Gareth Southgate's side take a 3-0 lead into half-time, before he doubled up after the break.

With Iran crumbling after goalkeeper Alireza Beyranvand suffered a nasty head injury early on, Jude Bellingham set the tone by scoring his first international goal, while Raheem Sterling prodded home England's third.

Mehdi Taremi denied England a clean sheet with a powerful finish, but substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish responded as the Three Lions sent out a message to their Group B rivals despite Taremi scoring a very late second from the penalty spot.

Harry Maguire was a nuisance in the opposition box and saw an early penalty appeal waved away before powering a header against the crossbar in the 32nd minute.

Three minutes later, Bellingham diverted Luke Shaw's hanging cross into the top-right corner with a fine looping header.

With Iran struggling to contain the Three Lions, Maguire nodded a corner into the path of Saka to unleash a fierce volley into the top-right corner and double England's lead.

Southgate's rampant side then made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time when Sterling cutely diverted home Harry Kane's right-wing cross.

There was no sign of England slowing down after the break, as Saka clinched his brace by cutting inside to drill a low finish beyond Iran substitute Hossein Hosseini.

Taremi denied England a clean sheet by firing in off the crossbar, but substitutes Rashford and Grealish produced composed finishes as the Three Lions extended their lead to 6-1.

There was one last piece of action when Taremi converted from the spot at the end of stoppage time after a VAR check contentiously ruled he was fouled by John Stones.

Manchester City centre-back John Stones believes form and club minutes are irrelevant when it comes to the World Cup, and is backing Manchester United captain Harry Maguire to deliver on the big stage for England.

Stones and Maguire are experienced in leading their country deep into big tournaments, starting alongside each other in both the 2018 World Cup semi-final and the Euro 2020 final.

While Stones, 28, remains in terrific standing back at City, starting almost every game he is healthy for, it has been a different story for 29-year-old Maguire this campaign with United.

After starting the first two games of the Premier League season, a benching followed by a hamstring injury has seen him make only one start since, with Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane overtaking the club captain.

Despite Maguire's lack of a perfect preparation, Stones said he knows he can still perform at a high level if that is how manager Gareth Southgate chooses to line up.

"Whatever team or whatever system Gareth decides, if it's me and Harry we will use those bonds again," he said.

"They are too strong to be broken by game time, form, whatever it is. That kind of goes out the window when these moments hit.

"When I look at Harry, I see a partner. Through all our experiences he's had my back and I've had his.

"We've had so many games together, we've made a bond and a partnership together. We know what the other person is going to do and how we work best together. It clicks."

England kick off their campaign on November 21 against Iran, before closing out the group stage with fixtures against the United States and Wales.

Barcelona forward Memphis Depay reportedly is looking to leave the club on a free transfer in January, and a trio of high-profile Premier League teams are mentioned as potential suitors.

Depay, 28, played 38 games for the Catalan giants in the 2021-22 campaign, but he has found himself on the outside looking in this season, appearing in only three contests.

With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, and Barcelona looking to shed his salary to increase their financial flexibility, the Netherlands international is hopeful his exit can be arranged mid-season.
 

TOP STORY – PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMS CIRCLE OUT-OF-FAVOUR BARCA FORWARD

According to Mundo Deportivo, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are paying close attention to Depay's situation with Barcelona.

If he is allowed to leave on a free transfer, United are said to have strong interest in bringing him back to Old Trafford, where he spent two seasons from 2015 to 2017 before being sold to Lyon.

The report also mentions Chelsea and Tottenham, who had interest in the previous transfer window before deciding against a move.

Depay has not played since a September 22 Nations League match for the Netherlands against Poland, but if he puts on a show at the World Cup, interest could skyrocket.

ROUND-UP

– According to The Guardian, Erik ten Hag plans on selling United captain Harry Maguire at the end of the season.

– 90min is reporting Arsenal are planning moves for Leicester City's Youri Tielemans and Palmeiras' 21-year-old Danilo in a bid to strengthen their midfield in January.

– Newcastle United will rival Arsenal in the chase for 21-year-old Shakhtar Donetsk winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, who will reportedly cost in the range of £100million, per Football Insider.

– The Daily Mail is reporting Chelsea have hosted 16-year-old Palmeiras prodigy Endrick on an official club visit, introducing him to fellow Brazilian Thiago Silva.

– Newcastle and Borussia Dortmund have shown interest in 20-year-old Leeds right-back Cody Drameh, per the Daily Mail.

England's all-time leading goalscorer Wayne Rooney hopes Harry Kane smashes his record during the World Cup.

Kane heads to the tournament with 51 goals for the Three Lions, two behind Rooney's record hail, with the pair standing as the only England players to have hit the half-century mark.

Having scored six times in Russia four years ago to win the Golden Boot, Kane will be confident of surpassing Rooney's tally in Qatar.

While others may wish to hold onto such a record, Rooney is fully behind Kane taking a record that is "there to be broken".

"I'm delighted for him, I think he'll go on and smash the record, I think he'll end up on 70-odd goals," Ronney told TalkSPORT.

"He deserves it for the work he puts in. It's a huge honour to have the record but the record is there to be broken and I couldn't think of anyone better to take that record.

"Hopefully, he gets it during this World Cup because it will mean he's doing well for England."

Kane was one of the sure-fire picks for Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad, which was named on Thursday, though the England manager's selection of Harry Maguire has come under some criticism.

Rooney, who took up a coaching role with D.C. United in MLS earlier this year, believes Southgate has made the right choice in picking the Manchester United centre-back, though he questioned the exclusion of Milan's Fikayo Tomori.

"Harry has been great in the last two tournaments. When I was in the squad, Gareth reiterated to me that he is picking players on form and I wasn't playing, so I didn't get picked, but he seems to have gone away from that now," he added.

"There's a couple of players within the squad who haven't been playing but I think Harry is a very good professional, he'll start the games, I have no doubt, and I'm sure he won't let England down.

"The squad is probably as strong as it could be, if I'm being honest. The only one really is Tomori, from my point of view. He was the one who was pushing to be in the squad, and he will be disappointed that he is not. Everything else is really what I expected.

"With Maguire not playing as much as he wants, I think Southgate might go for the protection with three centre-backs and that is obviously why he's gone with Eric Dier ahead of Tomori, because he fits into the back three.

"I hope we go for four [at the back] and get an extra attacker on the pitch but I think he might go for the back three."

England kick-off their group stage campaign against Iran on November 21, then tackle the United States and Wales in Group B.

Marcus Rashford's 100th Manchester United goal gave the Red Devils a hard-fought 1-0 Premier League win over West Ham on Sunday.

United handed Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire rare league starts, but Rashford snatched the headlines in bringing up his milestone with a fine 38th-minute header.

West Ham looked uninspired for long periods before finding David De Gea in strong form when they exerted some pressure late on, with the United goalkeeper making three crucial saves.

The victory lifts Erik ten Hag's team above Chelsea into fifth in the Premier League table, one point below fourth-placed Newcastle United with a game in hand.

Ronaldo sent a long-range effort into Lukasz Fabianski's arms as United dominated the early exchanges, before Rashford cut inside to send a deflected shot onto the roof of the net.

West Ham weathered that early storm and then escaped when Anthony Elanga badly miscued a volley from just six yards out after 36 minutes.

United led from their very next attack, however, with Rashford planting a brilliant header beyond Fabianski after meeting Christian Eriksen's hanging cross.

Ronaldo should have done better with a left-footed effort following Rashford's reverse pass as United continued to press after half-time, before David de Gea tipped Michail Antonio's fierce strike over the crossbar.

De Gea then made a brilliant reflex save from Kurt Zouma's header and denied Declan Rice from range after Maguire blocked from Jarrod Bowen, before which substitute Fred had nodded against the right-hand post at the other end – a near miss that did not prove costly.

Cristiano Ronaldo was given a start for Manchester United's meeting with West Ham, his first in the Premier League since being temporarily exiled from first-team activities.

Ronaldo was dropped for last week's dramatic 1-1 draw with Chelsea after refusing to come on as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Tottenham, and he was subsequently left out of first-team training.

However, Erik ten Hag recalled Ronaldo for Thursday's 3-0 Europa League win over Sheriff – a decision the 37-year-old validated by scoring his third goal of the season in all competitions – and the Dutchman kept faith with the striker.

Club captain Harry Maguire also earned a rare league start – his first since August – after Raphael Varane suffered a leg injury at Chelsea.

Fellow defender Victor Lindelof missed out through illness against David Moyes' team, as did Brazilian winger Antony.

Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Anthony Elanga were brought into the starting line-up by Ten Hag, having all been benched last time out.

Erik ten Hag is backing Harry Maguire to play an important role for Manchester United after fellow defender Raphael Varane suffered an injury blow.

Maguire has only made two Premier League starts since Ten Hag took charge of United – both of which came in the humiliating back-to-back defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford in August. 

However, Maguire could be set for a recall after Varane was ruled out until the World Cup next month, having suffered a leg injury in Saturday's dramatic 1-1 draw at Chelsea. 

Speaking ahead of Thursday's Europa League meeting with Sheriff, Ten Hag said Maguire had the ideal qualities to help the Red Devils.

"He always has an important role to play. He was injured and is happy he is back, and now he has to get back into games," Ten Hag said.

"I understand the interest, but we look at United. We have to get the right results.

"It's always about performance, about presentation. Regarding his qualities, there's no problem. He is a great player and has great capabilities to do a job for us."

Varane's injury has put him at risk of missing France's World Cup defence, with Didier Deschamps' Bleus set to begin their Group D campaign against Australia on November 22.

However, Ten Hag does not believe it is club coaches' responsibility to rest players during a packed pre-tournament schedule, adding: "I think it is the wrong idea. 

"They only have [a few] weeks and then the World Cup starts. You have to keep the right fitness, the right shape. 

"It is not optimum, but that is something the national managers have to deal with."

Erik ten Hag says Marcus Rashford is still "on a really good run" despite consecutive blanks and backed the Manchester United forward to get back on the scoresheet against Newcastle United this weekend.

The forward has been in superb form since United kick-started their season under the Dutchman, and netted twice in last week's Europa League win over Omonia Nicosia.

But the attacker failed to find the back of the net in both of their subsequent games, coming away empty-handed against Everton in the Premier League and then again in the return European fixture against the Cypriot outfit.

Ten Hag, however, is unconcerned by the mini-drought and tipped Rashford, who is eyeing a recall to the England fold in time for the Qatar 2022 World Cup, to return to form.

"Sometimes, it is the game," he said. "It just isn't your night, but it can change in another game. He is on a really good run. Maybe he's saving it for the coming week.

"He knows that he has to be more clinical, that he has to score a goal. When you have such good movements, when you make such good combinations, you have to finish."

Ten Hag also touched on the injury situations of Anthony Martial and Harry Maguire, revealing the former could feature against the Magpies, while the latter will likely return to full team training next week.

The former, back in the United fold after a lacklustre loan spell with Sevilla last season, has impressed on his limited appearances this term, with three goals and two assists in four games, but Ten Hag still wants to see more.

"We have seen [his skill] from his dribble capabilities, his speed, his finishing," he added. "Now, he has to work on more variation. He is a player who can adapt quickly to a high level.

"He likes challenges. Every game is a challenge, and he'll make the best out of it. I think there is a lot of space for improvement, but he is already really good."

Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof believes increased competition for places is helping to improve the Red Devils' fortunes.

Lindelof missed United's poor start to the season with injury but has since fought his way back into the defence, starting the past two matches alongside Lisandro Martinez, who recently signed from Ajax.

Martinez was brought in to bolster a backline that includes the likes of Harry Maguire and Raphael Varane, both of whom have featured this season alongside the Argentina international, who is the only centre-back to have started every league game so far this campaign.

United have improved of late, winning seven of their past nine fixtures in all competitions, and Lindelof believes a battle for places partly explains their upturn in form.

"Obviously, I had a tough start to the season," Lindelof told reporters ahead of Thursday's Europa League tie with Omonia Nicosia. 

"But it's always very important for this team to have good players in the squad and competition for places.

"It's not a problem for me. I am always available if the manager needs me and if I have the opportunity, I will do my best.

"I always want to push myself and play games. I think everyone in the squad wants that."

Lindelof also credits new manager Erik ten Hag for the recent developments in his own game, adding: "The way he wants to play suits me.

"He's demanding a lot from us, how we control the game from the back and start the build-up.

"Hopefully I can keep improving a lot under him."

Erik ten Hag has warned it will take "months" to consistently produce the intensity Manchester United need to become a force again.

There was an air of optimism at Old Trafford following four consecutive Premier League wins, but that came to a juddering halt when the Red Devils suffered a chastening 6-3 derby defeat at Manchester City last Sunday.

The champions tore United apart, Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scoring hat-tricks in a rout at the Etihad Stadium.

Ten Hag's side came from behind to win 3-2 at Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League on Thursday and return to top-flight action with a trip to Everton on Sunday.

Dutchman Ten Hag, who left Ajax to take the United hot seat at the end of last season, says it will take time for his side to reach the sort of levels he expects.

"It's more - it's physical, it's mental, it's also sustainability," he said.

"It's like a routine, a way of life and you have to bring it to every training in your system, as a squad and an individual player.

"When you have had a lack of it in the last years, it's not something that you build or progress in a week or a month.

"Now it's a system that has to be [in place]. It is a demand nowadays top football and it's quite clear City is the standard in that. There are more teams, but I think we can deliver that.

"We have seen it against Liverpool and we have seen it against Arsenal, but now we have to do it on a consistent basis, that is what we have to work for now.

"It will not come overnight, it will also take more than weeks - it will take months."

Ten Hag also expects United to be more disciplined and streetwise.

He added: "I know nasty, I know what it is. In that manner we can progress but sometimes also play a little bit smarter. 

"Like we have too many bookings and some players at the start of Premier League, they play tough.

"But I wonder [why] we collect so many bookings and I don't understand, like the first booking [for Diogo Dalot at City] on Sunday, I really don't understand. 

"We want to play tough, we want to keep the game going and then in the second minute already it's a booking for Diogo.

"Also, I saw many other bookings where I think, 'Is that necessary?' I have to keep the reminder to the players to play smart, but they have to play nasty as well."

Raphael Varane could return from an ankle injury at Goodison Park, but Harry Maguire remains sidelined along with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Donny van de Beek.

Gareth Southgate believes England have grown stronger as a result of their poor form ahead of the World Cup, as he pledged to stand firm on his selections.

England suffered a humiliating relegation from the top tier of the Nations League last month, finishing their campaign with three points – and no wins – from six games.

The Three Lions begin their World Cup campaign against Iran on November 21, and their six-match winless run is their longest such sequence going into a major tournament.  

Southgate was jeered by England supporters in the aftermath of a 1-0 defeat to Italy on September 23 and has been criticised for standing by Manchester United's struggling defender Harry Maguire.

Speaking at Monday's Legends of Football event in aid of Nordoff Robbins Music, Southgate accepted criticism of his decisions, but maintained he must sometimes resist "popular appeal".

"I think everybody in the country can see we're trying to accomplish extraordinary things," he said. "To accomplish extraordinary things is incredibly difficult. 

"This is a job where every decision, every selection is questioned, debated, ridiculed. That's just by my postman, by the way!

"Column inches are full, airwaves are filled. As a manager, you're not going to get every decision right.

"But I have to be strong enough to withstand popular appeal for something and do what I really believe gives us the best chance to win. 

"If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs, and blaming it on you. If you can trust yourself, when all men doubt you, but make allowance for their doubting too. That doubting, that noise that surrounds us is because people care. They're passionate. 

"They just want to win, and I understand that. And if we don't win for six matches, then quite rightly, I have to accept that criticism. 

"That's what goes with our job. If nobody cared or commented, then it wouldn't be the great and incredible challenge that it is."

England failed to score an open-play goal in their first five Nations League games, before coming from 2-0 down to lead 3-2 in last week's thrilling draw with Germany, but Southgate believes the team's poor run could benefit them heading to Qatar.

"Milan was painful. I knew walking over to our fans that it wasn't going to end well. But I wasn't going to take a backward step," Southgate added.

"I've enjoyed the warmth and the adulation, so you've got to ride with the discomfort as well.

"Against Germany, I think we showed what we're capable of, good and bad. It showed there is character there. As a team, I think we'll be better for that challenging period we've just been through.

"You wouldn't choose to go into a World Cup with the run of results we've had, but I actually think we're stronger for that and the players have had to take some ownership. 

"Those moments, like coming back from to 2-0 down and hearing the roof lift off Wembley, are hard to describe."

With England reaching the World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and finishing as runners-up at Euro 2020, expectations surrounding the Three Lions have undoubtedly risen.

"In seven weeks' time, I get to lead my country to another World Cup. We have players I'm proud to lead, who give us everything," Southgate said.

"We want to bring people together, create memories and history. I've said before the last two tournaments: if we can make people proud, we'll have had an amazing time.

"I know that the bar of what might be deemed success is raised and getting higher for us. But as a team, we have to focus on performance, and the rest will fall into place.

Harry Maguire will not play for Manchester United against Manchester City due to injury, but Erik ten Hag is confident he can rediscover his best form when he returns.

The United captain has endured a torrid season, losing his place at club level and then performing poorly for England despite Gareth Southgate's backing, with individual errors contributing to Germany's 2-0 lead in Monday's 3-3 Nations League draw.

There have been calls for Maguire to be dropped by Southgate, too, but he first faces a tough task to get past Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez back into Ten Hag's winning United side.

That will not happen in Sunday's derby, as Ten Hag revealed the centre-back was the only fresh injury concern, set to miss the game while Anthony Martial and Premier League Player of the Month Marcus Rashford return.

However, the United manager was quizzed on what he can do to help Maguire get back to his best.

"First of all, I have to coach him," Ten Hag said. "I have to back him, but I back him because I believe in him. In the period I was working with him in pre-season, he was good, I would say really good, training and games.

"But then it's also to do with the good performances of the centre-backs who are playing now.

"I can see qualities. Even after he was not in the team, he trained really well. More importantly, the quality was really there.

"You see his career: he has almost 50 caps for England, already with Leicester and Man United he's performed really well. What you see is high potential.

"Then it's about him. The players in the dressing room, the coaches, the manager, we all believe in him. Now it's about him. That's what I told him. I am sure he can do it, and he will turn around this. I am really convinced of that."

Maguire has been the subject of abuse due to his performances, and while Ten Hag suggested criticism was part of the sport, he recognised a lack of belief was the defender's biggest problem.

"It's an aspect of football. It's an aspect of our work," he said. "We set conditions for that, as a manager, and we also have experts around to help, to coach the players and the team in the right direction.

"I think he is doing quite well, but for every player there is room for improvement. If he believes in his skills, he will be quickly back on the level even more than he did.

"Once again, I'm convinced of that, because I see his capabilities are really high."

Jamie Carragher believes Harry Maguire's England place may now be untenable and thinks the defender must leave Manchester United to recapture his best form.

Maguire started United's first two games of the Premier League season – defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford – but has been relegated to the bench amid a four-game winning run for Erik ten Hag's men.

Maguire's lack of game-time at Old Trafford led to criticism of Gareth Southgate's decision to select him for England's Nations League ties against Italy and Germany, and the defender did not help his case with two nervous performances.

Having started as the Three Lions were relegated from League A with a meek 1-0 loss in Milan last week, Maguire gave away a penalty in Monday's 3-3 draw with Germany.

On Wednesday, former Liverpool and England defender Carragher said criticism of Maguire's performances was justified, writing in the Telegraph: "Harry Maguire should be angry.

"He should be angry that he has gone from England's best defender at the 2018 World Cup and 2020 Euros, where he was named in the team of the tournament, to being presented as a laughing stock.

"He should be angry that he has gone from a player England fans saw as 'one of their own' when singing his name incessantly during internationals, to someone who some supporters think it justified to boo whenever his name is announced in the stadium.

"He should be angry that he finds himself fighting to justify his place in England's World Cup squad on the back of being left in limbo at Manchester United.

"And he should also be angry when looking at himself and asking; 'how have I allowed it to come to this', when not so long ago he would have been alongside Harry Kane as one of the first names on Gareth Southgate's team sheet.

"No-one deserves the kind of mockery coming Maguire's way. Some of the criticism towards him is that which you would expect directed at bad apples – poor characters who undermine their clubs or teams. 

"Maguire is not that. But strong reactions are inevitable when you become an £80million player. 

"Criticism of his performance against Germany is valid and justified and Southgate must assess if Maguire is mentally right for a World Cup, able to show he can put all the issues behind him. 

"In the past, it is something Maguire has struggled with. How can the manager make such a big call before the opening game against Iran unless Maguire is playing for his club?

"'We've got to pick our best and experienced players unless we're in a situation where it is almost untenable,' Southgate said on Monday night. Unfortunately for Maguire, we may already be at that stage."

With Ten Hag preferring Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez at the heart of a new-look United defence, Carragher thinks the time has come for Maguire to call time on his spell at Old Trafford.

"Too often, it looks as if the weight of the world is on his shoulders, like he is a startled bunny more than the authoritative centre-back he was," Carragher added.

"I think it is too late at club level. I wrote last year he was fighting for his Manchester United career.  He needs this to be his final season at Old Trafford and start afresh. Now it is England's problem.

"When I watched Maguire in the last two games, I felt sorry for him. But that is not a good look for any sports person. Sympathy will not get him back where he was two years ago."

Having failed to win any of their last six matches, England are experiencing their longest winless run going into a major tournament, and their worst patch of form since another sequence of six games without victory in 1993.

England captain Harry Kane was "proud" of Harry Maguire for playing through injury towards the end of Monday's draw with Germany despite it being a nightmare match for the defender.

Centre-back Maguire has become a much-maligned figure at Manchester United, with his performances routinely called into question over the past 12 months or so.

That ultimately led to him being dropped by new manager Erik ten Hag in August after United lost their first two games of the new Premier League season – he has not started since in the top flight and the Red Devils have won four matches on the bounce.

England manager Gareth Southgate backed Maguire at the start of this international window, suggesting he would stake his reputation on the defender's selection before starting him in both Nations League games despite previous vows to pick players on form.

Serie A-winning Milan defender Fikayo Tomori was left out of the squad entirely on Monday while Maguire went on to endure a nightmare, with his individual errors contributing to England finding themselves 2-0 down.

England remarkably fought back to go 3-2 up with three goals in 12 minutes before Kai Havertz's second rescued a point for Germany, and while the focus was already on Maguire – who was later spotted limping through the mixed zone – Kane praised his character.

"Any individual mistake, you're going to be gutted. But we are a team, we will get behind each other," Kane said.

"They [Maguire and goalkeeper Nick Pope] will learn from [their errors] and they'll move on. They have been great for us every time they put the shirt on.

"H [Maguire] had a pretty decent injury there at the end, where he played another five, 10 minutes, on almost one leg.

"Great character from him [to keep playing], I'm really proud of him for that."

After the match, Maguire said sorry to supporters on Instagram following his errors.

The first was a poor pass out from the back that was intercepted by Jamal Musiala, whom he then clumsily fouled in the area. Ilkay Gundogan scored the penalty.

For the second goal, Maguire was robbed of possession – again, Musiala was his nemesis here – up the pitch and Germany sprung a rapid counter-attack that was rounded off by a gorgeous Havertz finish.

"Mistakes are part of the game, I apologise," Maguire wrote.

"Great fightback and spirit to get us back into the game by the lads. Take the positives and look forward to Qatar. The tough times will make us stronger."