World Cup

Harry Maguire pays tribute to Gareth Southgate

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 15 July 2018

England centre-back Harry Maguire hails Gareth Southgate for altering the country's style of football since taking control of the national team.

England centre-back Harry Maguire has paid tribute to Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate for altering the country's style of football since taking control of the national team.

The Three Lions drew a host of praise on their route to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup, but they could not make the final of the competition, with Croatia recording a 2-1 victory last week.

England then lost 2-0 to Belgium in the third-place playoff on Saturday afternoon.

Maguire, however, has insisted that Southgate's willingness to trust his players and bring in a new style of football will stand the team in good stead moving forward.

"We'd like to think we changed the philosophy of our game. Gareth has had a great plan since he came in. He feels that is the best thing for us to be successful," the Daily Mail quotes Maguire as saying.

"We've tried to play out and change the game to the way we want to play but there is still a lot of improvement to come. We feel we can get a lot better as a team and as a group. It is now time to show that.

"It's really good playing under a manager like Gareth. The confidence he has instilled in the team, his man-management skills are really, really top.

"He gives us confidence and belief that we can go and play and perform to the best of our ability. All credit to him for the way we are playing and the passing, stepping into midfield, it is all down to the management and staff."

England will return to action against Spain in the UEFA Nations League on September 8.